


The boy of sea and storm

by AnnieDeOdair



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Demisexuality, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Law is a cardiovascular doctor, Luffy is a social worker, M/M, Slow Burn, Social organization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:27:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 78,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieDeOdair/pseuds/AnnieDeOdair
Summary: "You are Torao, right?" The boy asked after a few minutes in silence. Law frowned."I am Trafalgar Law," he corrected, although he didn't know if he was talking about him."Yeah, Torao," Luffy repeated as if saying it well. “The other Kamabakka doctor. At last I know you, everyone talks about you.”Law raised an eyebrow confused because he didn't think anyone was talking about him. He was just a doctor in the same organization that Luffy had his soccer team on."I think it's the other way around," Law replied without taking his eyes off the street and his attention on the cell phone. “I feel like everyone talks about you all the time.”
Relationships: Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 205
Kudos: 295





	1. The Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [El chico de mar y tormenta](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24230251) by [AnnieDeOdair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieDeOdair/pseuds/AnnieDeOdair). 



> I've been working on this fanfic for several months. It was a long and arduous job, but incredibly beautiful to do. I really enjoy writing it and the quarantine, although in a tragic situation that I hope will end soon, it also gave me time to sit down and write. I decided to publish the first chapter in a rush of energy, but it is almost finished. I'm only missing the last chapter.
> 
> Thank you Daena Blackfyre for always being there, listening to my complaints, giving me ideas and putting together the fanfic Spotify list with all the songs that Luffy and Law dance. Thank you for being the perfect Torao for my Luffy and loving me so much. Thank you also Chainedkura for always supporting us, reading us to death, translating and laughing at the bullshit we do, and Dan.delionwine, my best friend, for reading the whole story in just one day and drawing me beautiful sketches of Luffy and Law, I adore you ♥
> 
> This fanfic is a translation made by my friend Chainedkura, thanks for always standing firm next to the cannon.
> 
> Disclaimer: One Piece doesn't belong to me, it would be chaotic if I did.

The coffee from the hospital vending machine was really bitter. It had a reputation for being nasty, and North Blue workers often avoided it. Law was not the case. The bitter, almost burned taste woke him up enough not to fall asleep from lack of sleep at night. It was questionable and dangerous for a doctor to depend on coffee to work, but Law knew himself well enough to know what his bearable quota of not sleeping was.

"You are the only one who can drink that." Shachi's disgusted face amused him. He looked at the thermal cup in disgust.

"It rivals the bitterness of his heart," Penguin teased, and Law rolled his eyes.

"He’s not bitter!" Bepo, the youngest of the group, defended him. In some way that Law still couldn't understand, he had developed a fascination for him. He was their defender of Shachi and Penguin's accusations. “He is just misunderstood.”

Their friends burst into laughter and a nurse passing by in the hallway glared at them because of the fuss. The breakroom used to be quiet if those three weren't there. When Law spent time alone there he became depressed; appreciating the quiet solitude, but missing the commotion of his companions. Always full of dissatisfaction.

On second thought, he understood why those three disliked the bitter coffee from the vending machine. They were too sweet and happy to bear that amount of bitterness. They already had Law for that. He smiled covering the curve of his mouth with the rim of the cup and finished drinking it.

"We have to get back to work." He looked at his watch and calmly checked the forms. “I have a planned surgery today, you guys?”

The three looked at their papers. It seemed a calm and normal day, without alterations. That's how Law preferred them.

"I have an appendix and a gallbladder operation," Shachi pointed out. He was a general surgeon, and the one who referred patients to other types of surgeons like them.

"I have a C-section," said Penguin, who specialized in childbirth.

"I only have surgery consultations." Bepo left his papers on the table and put on his medical uniform. He was a pediatric surgeon, the children loved him very much.

Law threw the plastic cup into the trash bin and walked ahead of his friends. They walked down the hall together until they separated into different rooms and continued to work. They did not leave at the same time, but sometimes they met in the hallways, in between runs, looking for nurses, doctors, supplies or whatever was necessary.

They had met at University studying medicine. Law had caught the attention of all three and had somehow served as a cohesion for the group. They had glued to him, amazed at his ability to study, and they used to ask him for help with some things, but they never made him feel that they were only with him because of his knowledge. Law had exceptional memorization skills, he was a prodigy, and others had trouble remembering part names and procedures. He had to admit that having them around made his study years better, and that, without their knowing it, they had saved him from dropping out many times.

He looked at his spreadsheet to see the name of the patient who was going to operate and typed on the computer. He adjusted his white coat and went searching for the operation room.

.

.

.

“How do you feel?” Law asked, looking at a teenager sitting on the examining table. The boy avoided his gaze and answered with a terse ‘fine’. “Why did you come to the consultation, then?”

He looked nervous, clutching the edge of his frayed hoodie. Law frowned. He encountered many cases like this in the Kamabakka. He recognized the behavior of a teenager with addictions. Memories of his own past floated like ghosts in his head.

"What did you consume?" He asked, looking at him seriously.

The boy looked at him in surprise. He didn't expect him to guess that fast. But if he had gone there willingly it meant he was looking for something.

"If you don't tell me, I can't help you," Law insisted, quieting his tone trying to get to the boy better. “What‘s your name?”

He felt the boy's gaze on him when he asked that. He hoped it would be a little kinder to get him started talking.

“Leo”

Law wrote it down on a spreadsheet and looked back at him.

"Who do you live with, Leo?"

The boy seemed unsure and nervous when he asked that.

“A- Alone."

Something stirred in his chest when he heard him. He looked very young, fifteen years old at most. He remembered again some images from his childhood that he quickly threw away. He couldn't work if he let his memories affect him.

He sat at the desk and wrote something on the prescription pad. An address. He held out the paper.

"Do you know Shirohige?"

The boy took the paper and denied looking at Law's curved letters, which were barely understandable.

"It's a shelter for boys and girls in your situation. You can go at any time. They're going to give you a bed and food.” He took off his glasses and stared at the boy. “Don't walk down the street alone. There you will have a safe place. And then you can come see me again to talk about the other matter.”

His words paid off and he saw a smile on the boy's face, who squeezed that paper tightly and left the room thanking Law before closing the door. Shirohige was the best option for him. He took out his cell phone.

> [06/25 03:48 pm] Trafalgar Law: Ace-ya, I sent you a boy to Shirohige's. He came to the Kamabakka's office and said he was alone. I could not get much information out of him, he is quiet and suspicious, but I noticed that he consumes substances.

Portgas D. Ace worked in Shirohige’s organization; a transit home for street boys and girls in emergency neighborhoods, such as Gray Terminal, where the Kamabakka organization was located. In the time that Law had been working there, he had recommended some children to go to Shirohige, where they helped them find a purpose, something to hold on to and gave them a big family. Many stayed until they reached the age of majority and remained in contact with the organization, and others lived for a time until they could relocate to better places. The doors of Shirohige's home were always open.

> [06/25 03:55 pm] Portgas D. Ace: Okay, we'll be on the lookout for him. If you continue to attend him, keep us posted. Regards.

_If you don't have a blood family to take care of you, you have your family by choice that will always cover your back,_ old Shirohige used to say. Law had known him from working there. The Kamabakka was a community center that provided medical care and recreational and sports workshops in an emergency neighborhood to boys and girls in vulnerable situations. It was not a job in itself because nobody paid him to go a couple of hours two days a week. The job that supported him financially was at the North Blue Hospital, where he worked as a surgeon with his friends from the university.

Law was at the Kamabakka because he wanted and because the creator was Ivankov, a medical friend who was his teacher during his university years. He had trusted Law to take him there when he decided to create it. The other doctor in the organization was Marco, his partner also in the North Blue and part of the Shirohige Home. Between the three of them, they covered six days a week of medical care at the institution, combined with activities and lunches.

The Shirohige organization had close ties with them and that’s why they used to interact a lot. When homeless boys or girls arrived at the Kamabakka, abandoned or lost, they took them to Shirohige's. Likewise, several of those who went to the Kamabakka to have a consultation or did some activity there were from Shirohige Home. Marco had made the contact with both organizations. Law admired that pediatric doctor for being in two social organizations and working in a hospital at the same time. If he could get more hours a day, he would sign up with many social aid organizations. Being there made him feel happy in a way he never experienced before. As if he really did something to change the lives of boys and girls who were just like him in the past.

He quickly responded to Ace when he finished his office hours and went through one of the classes. The last activity of that day was the Kendo Workshop until 7 pm, by Roronoa Zoro. Law saw the boys practice the stances from the door window and smiled. He knew that Kamabakka was a good thing. Everyone who worked there did so because they believed in it and that poverty was not a matter of effort or some meritocratic shit like that, but rather a lack of opportunities. That place was just a small help to start the long road of leveling things out.

He passed by the dining room where every noon lunch was served to the boys and girls who visited the Kamabakka on an empty stomach. From afar he saw Sanji, one of the organization's three cooks, sitting at the long table. Next to him was Nami, the accountant who helped Inazuma with the economy of the place. They had made coffee and were chatting, surely waiting for Zoro to finish the Kendo Workshop to go together. Sanji was there since noon, preparing the lunches for the boys and girls who attended.

"Law!" Sanji moved his hand to greet him and Nami turned around, smiling at him.

He approached the table to greet them and sat down when Sanji passed him a coffee. The blond man was the best cook he knew. The other two that the Kamabakka had, Paty and Carne, Sanji's companions in a restaurant where he worked, were just as good, but not as good as him.

"What are you doing so late here?"

The Kamabakka had four daily activities. In the morning, at noon where it was always the lunchtime, in the mid-afternoon and in the evening. Sanji always went before noon to cook and finished his shift at two in the afternoon. Nami helped with the organization's accounting and went at the same time as Sanji two days a week. It was rare to see them past five in the afternoon.

"We are waiting for Zoro," Nami said, lowering her cup of coffee.

"We have to meet Luffy to plan the August excursions, you had signed up to go, right?" Sanji asked, looking at him through his glass cup.

Law nodded. It was the second year that they made excursions to the forest with the boys and girls who attended the Kamabakka. A weekend, tents, bonfire, songs and games to promote the union between them all. Law was a fan of excursions and had agreed to go as a doctor in case something happened. The coordinating team was formed by Sanji in the kitchen, Franky and Usopp from the Carpentry Workshop because they knew about camping and building, and Luffy from the soccer team, who seemed to be a great entertainer and sports lover.

Law had come across almost everyone in the Kamabakka except Luffy. The soccer boy had different schedules and days than his in the organization and didn’t have the opportunity to cross him. It was not necessary. Everyone talked so much about that boy that he began to feel that he knew him. Not only was he a friend of the other coordinators who gave workshops there, but he was the godson of Ivan and his husband Jinbe, brother of Ace and Sabo, and a friend of Robin. He knew the last two from University; They were both teachers and Law shared different spaces with them. Sometimes he felt like he shared the same world with that boy whose face didn't know.

"Are we going to do fundraising events for the trip?" Law asked, putting his cup of coffee on the table.

"That's what we were thinking," Nami said, looking at Sanji. “I spoke to Inazuma about the expenses and what we have to do to raise that amount of money. Food sales, fairs, solidarity events. We have several ideas.”

Last year they had done some events to raise money. They all did a good job and nobody had to put their own money because they raised the amount they needed. Law recalled a sale of cakes and sweets, made by Sanji, that had been a success. The cook, Franky and him had sold everything in a matter of minutes.

"We should repeat the bake sale, last year it worked very well."

Sanji nodded and Nami wrote it down in a notebook that was already full of other ideas. Law looked at the time on his cell phone and decided to get up.

"If you need anything, send me a message on WhatsApp." He put down the cup he'd been taking and waved at them. “See you next week.”

He walked over the dining room and left the Kamabakka, looking for the bus stop to return home. He did not tell them about the situation of the child he attended earlier, but then he would send a message to the organization's group chat so that everyone would be vigilant if he returned. Law was sure he would. The Kamabakka and Shirohige helped people and he was proud to belong to that.

.

.

.

When he reached his apartment, the freezing cold welcomed him. He had left everything closed and his presence was the only source of heat that his house had received in hours. He took off the clothes he wore in the hospital and hung them on the small balcony, spraying them with disinfectant. He had acquired that habit at University, when he discovered the infinite possibilities of getting viruses and bacteria on clothes, and more so working at hospitals.

He put on a wide jumpsuit and rummaged through the drawers until he found a pair of comfortable pants. His cell phone vibrated on the nightstand and he saw Cora-san's name on the screen. A smile tugged at his lips without realizing it. His adoptive father texted him almost every day. He was one step away from making a group chat with him to talk over there in addition to their private chat. That's how intense he was.

> [06/25 06:30 pm] Cora-san: How did it go today? I bought a new watering can for the plants, you should see how beautiful it looks in the garden! Do you want to have dinner at the weekend?

He laughed softly, the low sound coming from him like a purr. Corazón was so strange to write messages. He did not usually send more than one and put all the questions and announcements of his life even if they had nothing to do with each other. Messages like: ‘How was your day? I went to the guard because I fell out of the chair. The other day I saw the neighbor and I think he is interested in me. How are your friends?’ were very common. They seemed very funny to him.

> [06/25 06:33 pm] Trafalgar Law: Hello Cora-san. I just came from the Kamabakka. I'm fine.
> 
> You can send me a picture of the garden.
> 
> I'm free, Do you want us to go eat somewhere or do I go to your house?

Cora-san didn't go to Law's apartment very often. It was too cold for him.

> [06/25 06:34 pm] Cora-san: Come home! Now I'm sending you the picture.

Cora-san's garden was very colorful. When Law left the house he had plenty of room for himself. He made the winter garden outside and filled it with plants and decorations. Law always gifted him some garden decoration, a new flower, a cactus or wooden signs to hang. When he sent the photo he saw the new watering can on a wooden cart with all the garden tools. He had given it to him on a birthday and he smiled seeing that he had put a photo frame too. The photo was of them when Law was younger. It had been taken at that home when they had just moved in. He was eighteen,dark circles under the eyes, much deeper than the present ones and an expression of misconduct and disdain. He was angry with life back then. Corazon was always the only one who showed him that living could be good too.

He quickly answered his father's message and put the cell phone in his pants pocket. Thinking of Corazón always made him feel good. He wouldn't admit it out loud but having him around had driven him out of madness many times. Law was not a sociable person, nor pleasant nor charismatic, but Corazón, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo stayed by his side. And that was his treasure.

He turned on the television and had a cup of coffee. It was dinner time but he didn't feel like cooking. He hadn't made the purchases and it was too late to leave. The chair received him with a blanket that he had left the night before and that protected him from the cold environment. He didn't know why his apartment was so cold. In summer it was ideal and in winters he always had extra blankets on the couch and bed to wrap around while doing his things. Television news reports showed a robbery of a couple from a high neighborhood and journalists assumed that the thief was from Gray Terminal. He rolled his eyes as he checked his cell phone.

He had missed calls from Ivan and messages in the Kamabakka's group. He frowned. He read over something about a fire when a call came in from Marco.

“Hello?” His tone of voice sounded exalted. The mention of the fire worried him.

"Law, hello," his colleague greeted him hastily. There was nervousness and concern in his voice. “Listen, we were calling you because something happened in the neighborhood.”

The neighborhood was the way everyone referred to Gray Terminal. The name had a general negative connotation for people who didn’t live there and many times the boys and girls of the Kamabakka refused to say it. Law did not agree with the stigmatization of the name, because there was nothing wrong with it, but he had gotten used to calling it ‘the neighborhood’ with affection, as if it were the neighborhood of his childhood, of his beautiful and sad memories.

“What happened?” He asked too emphatically.

“There was a fire in Tama's house, some boys went to help, but they need a doctor. I am on call in the North Blue and Ivan is there but it is not enough, are you free?”

Law jumped up without hesitation and clutched at his coat. The cup of coffee abandoned on the small kitchen island.

“I'm coming. Send me the address.”

"They sent it to the group chat."

He thanked him before hanging up and got into his car as fast as he could. He did not usually drive within the neighborhood because the streets were very complicated and narrow and he preferred to use public transport. He didn't use the car much anyway, but he knew it was urgent and he gave himself permission to check the location while driving. He didn't have almost anyone’s number saved from the Kamabakka WhatsApp group chat, only Ivan, Marco and Inazuma, but he knew the names of the others and had talked with them several times when they crossed paths at the organization.

He arrived in a short time and after being lost in some streets of the neighborhood where he didn't know how to turn, a little because of nerves and a little because of the inexperience of not driving as much there. Smoke flares were the final indication and he left the car in the middle of the street. There was a fire truck in front of the precariously constructed building pulling water with the hydraulic hose. He saw Ivan and others from the Kamabakka throwing buckets of water and trying to get everyone out of the house.

Law came running and touched Ivan's shoulder roughly.

"Did they all already get out? Where's Tama-ya?"

Ivan saw him sideways and Law thought he recognized relief in his features.

“Tama is still inside, Luffy is trying to get her out, but the entrance is on fire.”

He did a quick scan of the situation and saw Zoro from the Kendo Workshop throwing water along with Sanji. Law didn’t hesitate. He snatched a bucket from one of the closest boys and threw it at himself.

"Where's Tama-ya?" He asked, trying to see out the window.

"Near the front door, behind the fire. Luffy is trying to enter.”

He turned around and saw a great flame coming out of the door. At the entrance of the house was a young man, he guessed Luffy. He was in the middle of the fire, but apparently still far from Tama. He'd gotten himself wet just like him, but it wouldn't do much good with that big tongue of fire. He took a bucket from Sanji and went to the door, throwing the contents into the fire to slow it down.

"I need more water here!" He yelled looking at the firefighters.

One of them directed the hydraulic hose to the door and they calmed the fire, although due to the fire conditions they knew that as soon as they closed the hose everything would catch fire again. Going in with the power of that hose would be very difficult and Law doubted that the boy next to him could hold it too long, but was surprised when he saw him use the monstrous thrust of the force of the water to get to Tama faster.

Law passed behind him and covered his face, full of water, to see better. He could distinguish the girl's screams. And saw Luffy hold her.

“Do you have her?” Law shouted under that pouring rain and the flames at his sides in one of the most surreal pictures he had ever experienced.

“Yes!” He heard him scream and Law took Tama in his arms when he reached the door. Luffy seemed tired of walking against the water and protecting the girl's body.

The water stopped and flames began to threaten the entrance. Law scanned Tama's body for burns and then Luffy's. He saw damage to both and surely Tama's family would also have to be cared for. When they came out, he saw Sanji's face through his eyes blurred by the water and tearful by the smoke from the fire. Luffy coughed next to him and was sure he had been sucking in the smoke from the fire.

He lowered Tama who did not hesitate to run to her parents and Law evaluated the situation and the injuries with a better perspective. He only had to treat the family and Luffy. The others had come out without injury.

“Are you ok?” He asked the boy, looking at his bare shoulders where he had been slightly burned. Luffy nodded, although his eyes were irritated.

"They are in worse condition, don't worry about me."

Law clicked his tongue and looked at Ivan.

"I'm going to take them to the Kamabakka to check them, will you stay here until the fire is controlled?" Ivan nodded and he looked at Luffy. “Tell them to come, let's go in my car.”

Luffy called Tama and his parents and took them with Law.

"Get in," He said to the boy, opening the passenger door.

"I'm staying, I don't need to be checked."

"You have burned shoulders and smoke in your lungs. Get in, come on,” Law insisted, and Luffy looked at his friends who were still throwing buckets.

Zoro waved him off and Luffy reluctantly got into the car. She and Tama's parents settled in the back seat. Law didn't care that everyone was wet.

"Luffy-ya, right?" He questioned him as he started the car and tossed his cell phone into his hands. “I need you to tell me how to get to the Kamabakka on the map. Just put the address and then the directions.”

Luffy typed quickly and held the cell phone as a woman's voice told him where to turn.

"You are Torao, right?" The boy asked after a few minutes in silence. Law frowned.

"I am Trafalgar Law," he corrected, although he didn't know if he was talking about him.

"Yeah, Torao," Luffy repeated as if saying it well. “The other Kamabakka doctor. At last I know you, everyone talks about you.”

Law raised an eyebrow confused because he didn't think anyone was talking about him. He was just a doctor in the same organization that Luffy had his soccer team on.

"I think it's the other way around," Law replied without taking his eyes off the street and his attention on the cell phone. “I feel like everyone talks about you all the time.”


	2. The Soccer Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I published earlier than expected because my friend Chainedkura translated Chapter 2 to go out at the same time with the Spanish one. From now on, the publication will be on Sundays ♥ The story is finished "I recently finished it and I already miss it. Thanks to those who read and commented. It was beautiful to read authors that I had read here myself.
> 
> I have an important recommendation: Daena Blackfyre is publishing another fanfic —also finished— called Dysphoria. It's from Ace and Sabo, but there is also Luffy and Law being babys, Corazon being a great support, and a great extravagant and BEAUTIFUL family. Dysphoria is a very important story for both of us because I helped writing it and we also used personal experiences for Luffy and Law's childhood and Sabo and Ace's adolescence. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY.

[Dysphoria](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24282232/chapters/58527457) by [Daena Blckfyre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaenaBlackfyre/works)

.

.

.

Law bandaged the burned area on Tama's arm and sighed. Neither had suffered severe burns and it was a good thing considering what the fire had been. Unfortunately, he couldn't ask the family to be relieved or happy because they had lost their home. In neighborhoods like Gray Terminal, the houses were built precariously, one on top another, without blueprints and built by the own families. Law was fully aware that where the State wasn’t present, people organized to create their own living conditions. With few resources, those conditions could sometimes be very vulnerable. Houses like Tama and his family’s had many failures, and accidents were more likely to happen.

He didn't know what to say when he saw the girl's watery eyes; her face dirty with soot. He could see her sadness through the mask that oxygenated her lungs. Her parents had already been taken care of and only Luffy was left, who hadn’t taken major injuries, but he had to see them anyway.

He stroked the girl's hair and smiled softly. He had no answers to the situation, and no solutions to give her. He imagined that the Kamabakka would do some events in the community to raise money or gather some materials for Tama’s family. They used to do things like that when someone in the organization needed it.

He opened the door and let out the girl who hugged her parents. Law's office, which Marco and Ivan used when it was their shift, was now covered in soot and dirt. They would have to clean it up when they were done with that, but it wasn't even a major issue at the time. He called Luffy through the door and saw the boy get up from the waiting seats.

"Go eat something in the dining room," he said to Tama's family. “Paty-ya just arrived and is preparing something for you. You can also take a shower at the gym lockers, there are clothes in one of the closets.”

If it wasn’t for the Kamabakka they probably wouldn't eat that night. He was grateful that Sanji was so considerate of texting his colleagues to go to the organization. Paty hadn’t seen the messages from the fire, but as soon as Sanji called him, he ran to the neighborhood to help. It was good to have such committed people.

"I'm worried about where they're going to sleep tonight," Luffy mused out loud as Law moved closer to better inspect his wound. It was just on his shoulder and there was no fabric that could have stuck to the burn because he was wearing a vest. He still needed to look at it better.

"We're going to take them to Shirohige's," he said, filling a bowl with cold water from the small faucet in one of the corners of the office. “Tama-ya was there as a child too, before she could live with her parents again.”

The girl was wandering on the street for a time until Shirohige took her in. Her father had been detained for stealing some food and her mother had several drug problems that had temporarily taken away her daughter's custody. Until both of their issues were resolved, the legal situation of the father was regularized and the rehabilitation of the mother, Tama did not return with them. They had started their family life just under a year ago and were still learning how to live together.

"Sit on the stretcher near the sink and remove your vest." Law's instructions were in his cold, medical tone. He had no intention of being hostile, but he had grown accustomed to treating patients with a layer of imperturbability. Only a few cases of the Kamabakka, which dangerously touched the memories of his own childhood, managed to get him out of that numbness.

Law passed him a mask and put it over his face to oxygenate his lungs. Luffy silently complied and put his shoulder close to the tap, leaning down. Law grabbed him carefully and lifted the bowl of water above him.

"It may hurt or impress you, but it's just a moment," he warned before pouring the water onto the wound. Luffy clenched his teeth but didn’t complain. He felt him tense a little and turned his eyes to him.

"Wow, you have tattoos! That's amazing,” he exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring the sting of the burn.

It wasn’t a surprise when people noticed his tattoos, after all he looked more like a mob tattoo artist than a doctor. He had many parts of his body inked, but the ones on his hands were the most noticeable because his fingers had the word "death" written on them. In general nobody found it cool.

He repeated the washing procedure for a few minutes to cool the burn. He had done the same with Tama and her parents. Luckily no one went over a first degree burn.

“Does it hurt?” He asked routinely as he cleaned it after cooling the area.

"I'm fine, it's just uncomfortable."

He knew it was, but there was nothing he could do about it. When he finished washing it, he went to search the desk for a pot of purely natural, antibiotic-free aloe vera. He had left it open when he used it with the girl. He slowly applied a very thin layer to the burn with two fingers and looked at Luffy's face for signs of stronger pain. He was satisfied when he saw nothing strange. He finished the process by bandaging with sterile gauze.

"Thanks for helping me there," the boy said suddenly, looking for Law's gaze. The man gave him a soft, pleasant grimace.

"It’s okay, we were all trying to help. If it wasn't for you, Tama-ya would have been more hurt.”

He didn't want to think about what could have happened if Luffy didn't come looking for her. More injuries was the bare minimum. The boy's laughter distracted him from his nefarious thoughts.

"I was so scared," he confessed, and his laugh should seem discordant with what he said, but Law allowed himself to get carried away and his lips curled. He understood that Luffy was laughing with relief, with gratitude, knowing that no one had been hurt.

"Me too." He found himself matching the confession because it had been true. Law jumped out of his house and left as quickly as possible, worried that someone was in danger. Saying it now that everything was over felt like taking an iron backpack off him.

"I'm relieved they got a place to sleep too," he murmured in a lower voice and Law looked at him as he finished bandaging him.

"Inazuma-ya contacted Ace-ya to tell him about the situation," Law had found out when he entered the Kamabakka with the car. Messages in the WhatsApp group chat had announced that the accountant had taken care of contacting the Shirohige Home. “He’ll come to pick them later.”

"Ace?" Luffy's eyes seemed to sparkle. “Ace is coming!”

He had forgotten that Luffy was the brother of Portgas D. Ace. He was amused by the gesture of happiness of that boy thinking of his brother.

"Aren't you supposed to live in the same house?" Law asked, washing his hands. His gloves had been discarded in the trash can.

"Ace lives at Shirohige's since he started working there. He coordinates the groups and is one of the main organizers of the home. I miss him so much since he's not home.”

He raised an eyebrow but nodded. He figured living at the same place as he worked was easier for Ace. He wondered if his other brother, Sabo, still lived with him or if the boy lived alone. He didn't look very self-sufficient. Maybe I should tell Ace to take him with Shirohige too? he thought with amusement.

"Can we go eat too?" Luffy had taken off his mask and was already at the door about to leave when Law raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait a minute, you don't leave this room like that."

He pointed to his vest and took the opportunity as he dressed to find some more gauzes.

"Here," Law said as he held out his hand with some packages of gauzes. “It's all that was left, the rest I gave to Tama-ya's parents.”

At Shirohige's home they had medical attention, but Law was cautious. Luffy took the packages and put them in the pocket of his jeans shorts. He hoped he wouldn't lose them.

“If it hurts, take an over-the-counter painkillers: ibuprofen, acetaminophen. Some of that, and don't scratch it even if it stings. It will heal in a couple of weeks or so,” he added, opening the door to let the brat through.

Luffy smiled, apparently happy that he was done with it.

“Now let’s go eat!”

His emphasis would have been funny if Luffy hadn't dragged him into the kitchen to join dinner. The soccer boy was energetic and muscular, strong enough to move him. Law didn't appreciate being touched or things forced onto him, but the Kamabakka had the magical property of making him more docile, more approachable, and less snarly when he worked there.

The dining room was empty. They saw Patty in the kitchen, through the counter that separated the space from the long tables. Tama's family was gone.

"They went to take a shower," Patty said in greeting and smiled when he saw Luffy arrive there. “Does the hero come to eat?”

Luffy laughed out loud, taking the two plates that Patty shoved off the counter.

"I am not a hero," he said quickly. “We all did a lot. Torao helped me get to Tama.”

Luffy looked at the doctor and Law raised an eyebrow without understanding the credit he was giving him. It was true that everything was the result of teamwork and that without any of them there the situation could have been different.

"Thanks for coming, Patty-ya," Law said, looking at him through the counter. “Luckily we were able to resolve the Tama family situation, but we wanted to make sure they ate here.”

Luffy walked with both plates over to the table and Law snatched one off his hands.

"I want to eat something too," he growled, looking at the boy. Patty laughed out loud.

"Luffy eats like a monster, Sanji always has something extra prepared for him," the cook told him as he handed one more plate to the aforementioned.

The three of them sat at the closest table. Patty also ate a little while chatting about the fire.

"We don't know how it happened yet," Law told him. “When I got there the fire was quite big, I don't think much could be salvaged.”

Luffy frowned at his plate. Law could guess his concern because he felt it too.

"Last year we did a non-perishable food drive for Momonosuke's dad, when he lost his job, remember?" Patty said.

Law remembered. They had prepared an event with live music in a cultural center of the neighborhood whose entrance was a non-perishable food to fill their kitchen for a while and that at least they did not worry about the food. The event had become so famous that it appeared in some media and different people appeared offering work to the man.

"We could do something like that but with money for Tama's family," the cook continued.

He had already thought about it. He hadn’t been able to speak to Ivan and the rest for the time being to come up with the idea, but he was sure the topic would come up soon because apparently everyone had thought about it.

“Yes!” Luffy shouted, his cheeks full of food. “And if Tama and his family are in Shirohige's home, they will cooperate too. They could help organizing, I have to talk to my brother…”

The boy's enthusiasm was contagious and both Law and Patty smiled. With that assurance and those smiles it was impossible to think that something couldn’t be done.

He checked his phone while Luffy rambled on about a big party to raise money and saw that Inazuma had said something to the group chat.

> [06/25 08:52 pm] Inazuma: Ace is going to look for Tama's family, are they in the Kamabakka?

The message was from ten minutes ago, so he supposed Ace was about to arrive.

> [06/25 09:05 pm] Trafalgar Law: We are with Patty-ya and Luffy-ya here, waiting for them to come out of the shower. I already treated them all and no one has severe burns.
> 
> [06/25 09:07 pm] +81 (3) XXXXXX - Usopp: With Franky we talked about hosting an event to raise money for Tama's family.
> 
> [06/25 09:10 pm] Inazuma: We were also thinking about it with Nami.
> 
> [06/25 09:12 pm] +81 (3) XXXXXX - Nefertari Vivi: Are all those who were in the fire all right?
> 
> [06/25 09:15 pm] Ivankov: We are all fine. I am Zoro. Ivan is driving to take us to the Kamabakka.

He breathed with relief because everything was in order. At least the most important and urgent thing had already happened. Now they had to focus on what to do to help that family. He felt the soccer boy restless beside him, and when he turned his face, he saw that Ace had arrived and Luffy was seeing him out the window parking a car at the entrance of the Kamabakka.

He got up to open the doors and greeted Portgas D. Ace warmly. He hadn't seen him many times, but he knew him well enough not to mistake him. Now that he had met the youngest brother of that trio, he was sure that none of the three was easy to forget or go unnoticed.

“Is everything alright?” Ace asked cautiously, his gaze searching for Tama's family.

"For now, everything is in order," Law replied, informing him of the situation, the dimensions of the fire and the injuries. “We are already thinking about what to do to help them with the situation.”

Luffy jumped, excited.

"We can have a fundraising party!" He said cheerfully. ”Surely old Shirohige agrees, right Ace?”

The older brother smiled fondly and nodded.

"Yeah, we were thinking about it when we found out." Ace's gaze narrowed on Luffy, squinting his eyes. “What happened to your shoulder? Did you get burned too?”

Luffy gazed down at the injury and shrugged.

"It's nothing, Torao cured me and Tama and her parents too. He's a great doctor.” The compliment took his breath away and he didn't know what to say when Ace turned his gaze to him.

“Torao?” He asked amusedly. Ace clearly knew his name and should also know his brother's habits by deforming them. “Thanks for that.”

He opened his mouth to say that he didn’t have to thank him, that it was his job, but Tama's family returned from the showers, wearing clothes that were in the gym. They looked better, although he couldn't say the same for their mood. Tama ran when she saw Ace and hugged him, burying her face in his stomach. The man stroked her hair and leaned down to smile at her.

"You're going back to the Home, I know you probably don’t like it, but it's just for a while," he said fondly. “Let's find a way to solve this between all of us.”

The girl hugged him tighter. She seemed to have been very attached to him since she lived in the home before. Luffy smiled fondly upon seeing them.

“How do you feel?” Ace asked, rising from the ground and looking at the parents.

"We're fine, the injuries were not serious. The doctor took care of it,” the mother replied, her voice slightly broken.

Tama's father was encircling the woman's shoulders and they were both close. Law admired the strength he saw in her eyes. It was a family that had had a hard life. He especially empathized with the woman, who had had drug problems. She reminded him a little of himself.

"Thanks for everything." The woman put her hand to her mouth when she couldn't help but sob.

The man said nothing, but he tightened his hold fondly. Law realized that he couldn't speak because he was afraid of falling apart.

"Don't worry." Ace was the one who took over the conversation. He seemed like the perfect type of person for those situations that Law didn't know how to handle. “For now you have a place to stay. We will do something later so you can come back.”

They walked them to the door and said goodbye to them when Ace got in the car. Luffy greeted his brother through the window and smiled, bright as a sun.

"Thanks Luffy," the girl yelled from the back seat and the boy raised his hand smiling.

When they left, everything else happened as a blur in Law's memory. At least up to a point. A few minutes later Ivan, Sanji and Zoro arrived, whom he superficially checked because they had no injuries beyond scratches and dirt on their hands. Some of them went to take a quick shower in the gym to remove the burning smell and soot from their bodies. Luffy was the dirtiest of them all, and although he refused to bathe, Ivan and Sanji put him under the shower with clothes and everything.

Law was about to fall asleep at the dining room tables. The day had been particularly long and full of adrenaline and nerves that had exhausted him. By the time the rest finished washing up and having a drink, Ivan was already gathering them all to leave.

Of the six, three had a car. He and Ivan and Patty had arrived at the fire in a vehicle; Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy were at the Kamabakka earlier, wrapping up the meeting on events to raise money for the excursion. Nami had left earlier and was unable to return later.

"I can give you a lift, Luffy," Ivan said, pulling out his car keys. Luffy shook his hands in a vague attempt to refuse.

"But it's too far for you, Iva-chan. You will have to stray a lot.”

“Where do you live?” Patty asked. “I was going to give a lift to Sanji and surely Zoro, who always stays with him.”

The insinuating tone with which he said that didn’t go unnoticed by Law, nor the rest. It seemed that Zoro was about to shout something and Sanji clutched his head in disgust (and a blush) when Luffy intervened, oblivious to the double meanings.

"At the end of Goa, near Flevance."

Goa and Flevance were two nearby neighborhoods, connected by the tracks of a train that had stations in both cities. Neither was far from Gray Terminal and the Kamabakka. Ivan could easily drive him there, but his house was in the opposite direction.

"I live in Flevance," Law managed to say without realizing it. “I'm going there, I can take you.”

Luffy looked at him in surprise and his eyes did something strange: they generated a glow that could swallow them all up like an inverted black hole. Law frowned.

“Really?” Luffy's enthusiasm was barely concealed. “You are great, Torao, thanks!”

He rolled his eyes and took out the car keys. Ivan could eventually go home alone and Paty could give a lift to Sanji and Zoro. He watched them go in between arguments that Law wasn't sure if they were Patty's towards them or between Sanji and Zoro.

"Seatbelt," he snapped when they got into his car.

"So you live in Flevance, that's really close," the boy replied, finishing fastening his seatbelt. Law started the car and honked his horn to greet the others.

"Most of the time I spend at work anyway."

“You're a doctor?”

Luffy's questions sounded genuine, filled with a curiosity bordering on childishness and at the same time with the necessary attention of an adult.

"Yes, in the North Blue."

Luffy's house was before his according to the indications he had given him, he didn’t have to stray from his way he was just passing through. He got distracted when he saw the boy look at him with intrigue.

“My friend Chopper did the internship in that hospital, I think you know him.”

He remembered the guy Luffy mentioned. He looked like a boy, short of stature and skinny. He had recently worked at North Blue as a career requirement. Law also did the internship there while he was still studying. According to what Chopper told him, he had asked for that hospital because he was comfortable with the city's climate, cold as his hometown. They had met in the hallways and breaks and Law had been assigned to take care of him at certain times. The boy was also a prodigy and had quickly empathized with him.

"Yes, I have his number. He sends me messages with doubts from time to time,” he mentioned, recalling Chopper's voice messages, excited to tell him thousands of things he had learned or ask him questions he didn't understand.

“Right!” Luffy remembered with a smile. “He always talks about a great doctor who is very smart.”

He could imagine Chopper saying that, but also Luffy. They both looked like excited children.

"I'm just a doctor." He tried not to feel overwhelmed by Luffy's words and what he knew Chopper was saying about him. The boys seemed to see everything wonderful. “What about you? Are you studying something?”

Luffy looked at him with another of his bright smiles. He seemed excited to talk about it, though he couldn't imagine what kind of thing that boy could study, or if he was working on something.

“I study Social Work at the same university where Sabo and Robin work. You also know them, right?”

Law nodded. He knew they were both teachers. Robin of history and archeology and Sabo of sociology. Law had met them at faculty conferences and although their disciplines were different, he got along well with both.

"It seems I know much of your world," he said without thinking, paying attention to the street.

Luffy's giggle made him look at him briefly.

“It's not fair because I don't know any of your friends.”

He raised an eyebrow but couldn't help but smile at the tantrum. It seemed strange to him to imagine Luffy meeting Shachi, Penguin and Bepo, but at the same time he knew that they would get along.

"What would you like to work on when you finish your degree?" He asked with a strange curiosity for him. He was surprised to find himself speaking so comfortably to someone who was alien to him.

But was Luffy so alien? Didn't he know him almost as if they'd been spending a lot of time together before they'd met? It was very surreal to see the boy they had told him about so many times.

"I like the work we do at the Kamabakka." Luffy's words brought him out of his musings. “And what Ace does at Shirohige's home. I want to do what I can for neighborhoods like Gray Terminal.”

Although he tried, he couldn't help but smile a little wistfully. Images of his past entangled with his overriding need to participate at the Kamabakka for the same reasons that Luffy mixed, reminding him that he too had a similar conviction.

"We lived in Gray Terminal when we were kids," he confessed, and Law didn’t move, although he was certainly surprised. “My grandfather had left us in the care of a woman there and we were raised in the neighborhood.”

The similarities with his life were not many, however Law felt Luffy's story painfully hitting the fragments of his past. He supposed that all those who worked at the Kamabakka did so for a reason, something that called them from the intimate and the private that quickly became a public and political concern for the lack of opportunities and violations of rights in the neighborhood.

"How did you move to Goa?"

"Grandpa showed up one day to take us," Luffy replied naturally. “Before, he worked all the time and always traveled a lot, but he was assigned in a fixed place and took us to live with him in Goa.”

Law frowned. He couldn't believe how that man had left three boys in the care of another person to look for them years later as if they were a package.

"Gray Terminal is important to me. Many of the guys we met with Sabo and Ace still live there and have the same problems we had back then. I want to help them.”

He knew what problems he was talking about. Precarious constructions, lack of basic services, poverty, contamination. Things they struggled with daily in the Kamabakka.

"And why do you work at the Kamabakka, Torao?"

His hands tightened on the steering wheel helplessly and he tried to keep his gaze on the street.

"I also had a difficult life when I was younger." He could feel Luffy's curiosity about him. “And when I became a doctor I knew that I wanted to help make less childhoods like mine.”

"We are not so different then," he heard the boy say and out of the corner of his eye he saw him smile. Law reciprocated the gesture.

"It may be," he said, absorbed.

Maybe he saw himself reflected a little in certain things that Luffy said. It didn’t happen often with other people. So it was difficult for him to empathize with the people he knew in his daily life; the life of Flevance, North Blue, Dressrosa. The frivolities that concerned and interested the cities seemed alien to him. On the other hand, with the people who worked there, at Shirohige’s, at the Kamabakka, in the teaching, at the organizations, they had things in common. They had worries, desires, and lifestyles. Luffy was one of those who, if he came across him in Flevance or Dressrosa, wouldn’t have turned to look at, but that there, in his car, after returning from a fire in which he saved a girl they loved very much, he could see him in another way.

“Tell me where you live, we are about to arrive.”

He soon discovered that Luffy was a lousy co-pilot. He couldn't guide him or know how to explain where to go. Law had to park on a street and ask for the exact address to look for it on his cell phone's gps.

“I don't get lost, the one who gets lost is Zoro!” He tried to defend himself and Law growled as he started the car again and returned to a street they had already passed three times.

He parked in front of a modest two-story house. It wasn't big enough for four adults to have their privacy, but since Ace had moved, he figured they lived more comfortably.

"Does your grandfather still live with you?" He didn't know why the questions kept coming out of his mouth. A curiosity that he believed to be dead was being born

"No, he moved shortly before Ace left." Luffy hung up his backpack and took off his seatbelt. “Now it's just me and Sabo. He should be home by now.”

Surely he would be. It was eleven o'clock at night. Luffy didn't seem to be very aware.

"Thanks for bringing me, Torao." He got out of the car and leaned over, waving at him. “It was fun to finally meet you, you are really cool as everyone says!”

He couldn't help but frown and smile at the same time. That boy was clueless. There was no chance they had said that about him.

"See you later," Luffy yelled away. He saw him open the door and greet him with a wave before entering.

He resumed the march towards his house with the feeling that that day had been long and that he would always remember it.


	3. The Organizing

When he arrived at North Blue the first thing he did was drink coffee. He had not slept very well that night and had been called in for an emergency operation that left him with few hours of sleep. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo were at home, sleeping, and he watched the sunrise in the breakroom from a faded, old window.

The mist mingled with the slowly appearing rays of the sun, seeping through the clouds and the buildings like a small illuminated crevice. Law closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his face and the window. Although he was better off in winter weather, he couldn't resist a few warm little rays of light thawing his nose. His hand around the styrofoam cup warmed up and the coffee smoke clouded his vision a little.

His cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his doctor's gown and he reached in to grab it and read the message. It was the Kamabakka's group chat. He frowned. Who was awake at 5:50?

> [06/27 05:50 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Hello! I was thinking about some things we could do to raise money for Tama.
> 
> A big party!
> 
> With an entrance that includes a drink and then inside we sell food and drinks. Everything at a reasonable price. 

We put on music and shows. Franky and Brook can play some music. The workshops may present a performance. Get people who want to collaborate. We have many friends who will surely give us a hand.

Law raised an eyebrow as he read and finished his coffee. On the day of the fire, he had saved the numbers of all the personnel of the Kamabakka because he believed that it was more useful this way, although he didn’t remember everyone's names.

> [06/27 05:55 am] Trafalgar Law: What are you doing awake at this time, Luffy-ya?
> 
> [06/27 05:56 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Torao! I was about to go to bed, but I just had this idea
> 
> What do you think?

It was kind of funny imagining the giddy young man unable to sleep like him. Luffy didn't seem like someone who had that kind of problem. Surely he had stayed up late thinking about what to do for Tama. And wasting time on the cell phone.

> [06/27 06:02 am] Trafalgar Law: Sounds good to me, we've been thinking about it but I think your idea has potential.
> 
> We’ll have to think carefully before carrying it out.
> 
> Can we afford the expense when we have the camp so close too?
> 
> [06/27 06:10 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Damn…
> 
> I didn't think about that.
> 
> I hope Nami and Inazuma come up with something.

Law rolled his eyes. Luffy only threw ideas in the air and was not responsible for their material application. Anyway, the idea itself was not bad, perhaps not with the opulence with which Luffy imagined it, but he saw it as possible.

> [06/27 06:16 am] Trafalgar Law: When the rest wake up we can talk about it.
> 
> [06/27 06:17 am] Luffy Kamabakka: IT'S SIX IN THE MORNING, OMG
> 
> [06/27 06:19 am] Trafalgar Law: Didn't you notice?
> 
> [06/27 06:22 am] Luffy Kamabakka: God, it's really late.
> 
> I should sleep.
> 
> What are you doing awake, Torao? Do you have trouble sleeping?
> 
> [06/27 06:25 am] Trafalgar Law: I'm working, Luffy-ya.

Internally he thought that he also had trouble sleeping and that it would not be unusual for him to stay up until that hour because he couldn't fall asleep, but that would never be admitted in a group chat with so many people.

> [06/27 06:26 am] Trafalgar Law: Let's stop talking in this group chat that everyone must be sleeping.
> 
> Later we will talk about your idea.

He locked the cell phone and put it in his pocket again. It was still too early to organize something. When everyone was online they could discuss the matter and he would take care of whatever was necessary, although he suspected that Luffy would be the most involved in the idea. His cell phone vibrated again in his pocket and he frowned at it. A private message. From Luffy.

> [06/27 06:30 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Hello Torao!
> 
> You said not to speak in the group chat so I decided to come to your private chat.
> 
> So, do you think the party can be done?

He clicked his tongue. That boy seemed too excited for the time it was. Law wished the sun would hide again because he needed some darkness and Luffy was directly competing with the brightest star.

> [06/27 06:35 am] Trafalgar Law:We’ll talk about it later.
> 
> We have to make numbers to see if we can cover everything we need to buy for the party with Kamabakka funds.
> 
> Nami-ya and Inazuma-ya will take care of that.
> 
> [06/27 06:37 am] Luffy Kamabakka: I don't know anything about numbers
> 
> but I know it will be possible.

Sigh. He did not expect less from that scatterbrain.

> [06/27 06:38 am] Trafalgar Law: We'll talk later, Luffy-ya. I have to go back to work.

He put the phone away and tossed the cup into the trash container. The day had just begun and he already sensed it was going to be a long one.

.

.

.

He got home quite tired. The little amount of sleep, the work of various operations and the cell phone bursting with messages didn’t leave him a little moment to relax. It was around three o'clock in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten anything since the coffee from that morning. He bought a few things on the way and made himself a simple meal because his stomach was growling.

He read the messages on his cell phone sitting at the kitchen counter while he ate. The Kamabakka's group chat was in overdrive. The rest of the team was awake and talked a lot about Luffy's idea, the necessary numbers to get to buy everything and when, how and where it would be done. The creator of everything did not appear until two in the afternoon when he woke up from his sleep.

They decided to throw the party at the facilities of a neighborhood sports club in Gray Terminal. Apparently Tama's father had helped build the club several years ago, and all the residents who ran it held him in good esteem. Luckily they had chairs and some tables to set and the Kamabakka could move his tables and chairs from the dining room. Food was the most important thing. What to do, how much and how. Sanji, Patty and Carne made themselves available, along with two chefs from the club. Simple and fast food that could be eaten while standing. Various drinks and alcohol.

Taking into account the fund of money raised from the Kamabakka, certain liberties could be allowed and other events to raise money could be avoided. They’ll have to leave those for the camp that they would have in a few months. The entrance fee was not really expensive, nor the food that they were going to sell. The idea was that it would be cheap so that people from the neighborhood could go to collaborate with Tama and his family and it would not be very expensive for them.

> [06/27 03:17 pm] Nami Kamabakka: Invite friends and people you know too!
> 
> [06/27 03:18 pm] Vivi Kamabakka: But only to those who have no problem with the neighborhood. I don't want people who can mistreat anyone to come.
> 
> [06/27 03:19 pm] Zoro Kamabakka: Vivi, you tell those people Gray Terminal and they run away. They won't come, don't worry.

The stigmatization of the neighborhood was really high at that time. The case of a Gray Terminal man who had robbed a house in Dressrosa, a city close to Law's, was circulating in the news days ago. While the crime at Gray Terminal was real and the insecurity existed — it was always more likely to come from places with so much deprivation and neglect — Law knew there wasn't just that facet. And he knew that the media's intentions to show the darkest face responded to deeper things, such as trying to hide the deeply resistant character that existed in many of the families that lived in Gray Terminal. That even with their problems, their needs and their struggles living in such an abandoned place, they built ties of solidarity and support networks below the official system.

> [06/27 03:20 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: I invited everyone I know. I sent a broadcast.

He smiled a little. Luffy's naivety was comical at this point. 

> [06/27 03:22 pm] Trafalgar Law: I have four possible guests. I’ll confirm later.

He was sure that Shachi, Bepo, Penguin and Corazon would have no problem going. Surely his friends would have a great time at a party and Corazon would laugh at all of them, urging Law to dance too.

On second thought, he didn't know if it was a good idea.

The things he did for the Kamabakka.

His cell phone vibrated with a private message and he raised his eyebrow when he read it was from Luffy.

> [06/27 03:23 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Hello! This is a broadcast. There will be a very important party on Saturday, July 4 at Foosha Club in Gray Terminal from 8 pm. Admission is only 50 beris and comes with a free drink. It is for the benefit of Tama’s family because their house burned down a few days ago. It is very important that everyone comes! 
> 
> Confirm attendance, please! Thank you!!

He laughed a little because the silly boy had sent the broadcast to him too, but at the same time the message caused him a certain childish tenderness.

> [06/27 03:24 pm] Trafalgar Law: I was going to go anyway, Luffy-ya.
> 
> [06/27 03:25 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Ops, sorry Torao. I sent it to everyone.

He covered his mouth gently to laugh. He didn't know why he had that habit of hiding his laugh even when no one was there to see him.

> [06/27 03:26 pm] Nami Kamabakka: Luffy, don't send the invitation to us!

He couldn't help it. He lowered his hand and a genuine laugh came from his lips. He was very silly and still it was funny.

He turned off the cell phone and left it on the bar while he moved to the chair to rest. Maybe he would take a nap, if he could. 

.

.

.

He woke up with a crooked neck, but very warm. He knew he couldn't have everything. He had slept well enough, but now his muscles resented falling asleep there, on the sofa, without a proper pillow. The blanket that covered him was still on his body although a part was dragging on the floor.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at the time on his watch. Almost eight o'clock at night. He would have to think what to eat because he was already feeling hungry. Lunch had been meager and fast and didn’t fill him.

He looked for the cell phone and looked over the messages about the party. He had proposed to help out in the kitchen and had gotten the worst role in history. He had to buy the bread for the burgers. He was very unhappy with this distribution of tasks. He really hated bread.

When he read that it was Saturday, a thought came to the back of his mind behind everything else, that he was forgetting something, but he didn't quite know what. And when he thought about food, the idea came so close to him that he could dig it up out of the forgetfulness of his mind.

Corazón!

He had agreed that he would go home for dinner on the weekend. Damn, he had a message from him.

> [06/27 07:02 pm] Cora-san: You're coming today, right?

Shit, yes. He had to get out fast. He changed his clothes in a hurry. He left the clothes, which he wore under the doctor's gown during the morning, lying on the couch. It wasn't like him, but later he would fix it. He left with his car and house keys and the cell phone in hand. He entered the elevator, wrapped in his long jacket, and sent an audio message to Corazón.

“Hello Cora-san, I'm sorry, I fell asleep when I got home from work. I'm on my way, I'm just a little late.”

He got in the car and left everything lying on the passenger seat while turning it on. His phone vibrated and he checked it before he started driving.

> [06/27 08:11 pm] Cora-san: I forgive you because you slept, I hope it was a good dream.

He smiled as he read the message. Cora-san had that inexplicable ability to make him feel good and happy. He didn’t know why or how, but he sensed it had to do with the fact that he had saved his life in his dark times and thanks to that he became a father to him.

Dinners with Corazón were anything but boring. The man was very funny and giddy. Law wondered why people like that stuck to him like gum on his boot. Shachi, Penguin and Bepo were the same and he didn’t remember having a single serious friend in all his life. He didn't remember having many friends anyway.

He parked at the door of Corazon's house in Dressrosa. That little house where he lived when he rescued him and took him to live with him. His room was still intact, with university medical books, written papers, and little notes from Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo hanging on a blackboard on his desk. They had been written on long study nights, in which Corazón made coffee for everyone and stayed awake in his room listening to how his son's friends teased him for remembering everything ‘so quickly and making it seem easy’. 

Law used to leave all the empty cups in the kitchen at dawn and wash them, when his friends had already fallen asleep among the blankets and pillows that Corazón had arranged on the floor, and he would come to his room with a steaming cup for his father. He knew that Corazón couldn’t fall asleep the night before his exams and didn’t understand why something of his affected him so much, but at the same time it produced a pleasant heat in his chest.

He let himself in since he had the keys, because he was still keeping them and Corazón had asked him to do so. Law had not wanted to enter using his keys because he considered that if he didn’t live there anymore, he had to give his father some privacy, but he insisted and who was Law to deny happiness to that man.

"Cora-san, I'm here," he announced at the door, taking off his coat as he removed the cold from his body.

“Law, hello!” Corazón came out of the kitchen with an apron around his waist and greeted him at the door with a big hug. Law giggled warmly on his shoulder. “So you took a nap, that’s so not like you.”

He accompanied him to see what he was cooking and was surprised to find the cut food on a board. He smiled when he saw that his thumb was bandaged again. That clueless fool.

"They called me early in the morning for an operation so I didn't sleep at night," he replied to his earlier comment and stepped forward to grab the knife and continue the dinner he was preparing. “Were you about to make onigiri?”

Corazón wanted to prevent Law from cooking, but he refused. His father was not a good cook after all and he was always hurt because of his neglect. He had already made his gift by preparing everything for those rice balls that he liked so much.

"Also grilled fish," Corazón added, knowing that Law liked this food very much.

It wasn't too much work preparing that, so he started cooking the fish while letting Corazón shape the onigiris.

"How did it go at work? Did you see Bepo, Shachi and Penguin?"

"Well, today was something intense, I had several operations, but I left early." He put the fish to cook and leaned against the counter. “I didn't see them because they came in when I was leaving.”

He remembered having the cell phone full of messages when he returned home and thought it was a good idea to tell Corazón.

"The people from the Kamabakka are organizing a party at a sports club in Gray Terminal. The idea is to raise money for a family whose house burned down.”

Corazón approached him and looked at him with some concern.

“Are they okay? The family …”

"Yes," he said quickly. “I treated them the night of the fire. They didn’t suffer serious injuries, but they lost everything. It’s important to be able to gather enough people to collaborate.”

"I can tell your grandfather to send a donation, even if he doesn't go, it must be useful. I will go, of course. Did you ask your friends?”

He smiled at the complicity and accompaniment that Corazón had with him. He didn’t sleep the nights before his exams, he got involved with his activities and attended the Kamabakka’s events to raise funds. He was always there to support him and was the closest thing to security and stability he ever had.

"I texted them a while ago,” Shachi and Penguin had automatically answered yes, and Bepo had to confirm if he had scheduled operations that day. “Admission is 50 beris and comes with a free drink and a snack.”

"That's great, Law. They are putting a lot of energy into that, right?”

Two days had passed since the fire and they already put together a plan to raise money. They had put a lot of effort, but also a lot of interest. Ivan had contacted Shirohige to participate too, Sanji, Patty and Carne already had a meal plan, Nami and Inazuma had done the math to check that everything was ok with the budget and Luffy had been the driving force behind all of this in just two days. It was really impressive if you thought about it.

His cell phone vibrated and distracted him from the conversation to quickly read the message.

> [06/27 08:42 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Torao! I'm with Nami and Sanji planning the list of attendees, do you know how many of your people are coming?

"Wait, I have to answer this," he warned Corazón because he didn't like to use the phone when he was with him.

“Who is it? He asked curiously, peering over at the message.” Law rolled his eyes. His father didn’t understand what privacy is. Not that he cared that he saw that message, but it wasn't the point.

> [06/27 08:45 pm] Trafalgar Law: For now, three are coming and maybe one more. I will confirm for you later.

He turned off the phone and put it in the back pocket of his jeans. 

"He is a fellow Kamabakka’s member," he told him as he moved to remove the fish from the fire and they began to serve the dishes to move to the table. “He is a boy who gives a soccer workshop in the organization and that I met the day of the fire.”

"Great way to make new friends," his father teased.

"He is not a friend, Cora-san," he corrected him with a mocking smile. “I already have too many effusive people in my life.”

Corazón laughed as if he had complimented him, and his cheeks took on a darker color that Law found endearing. They sat down to eat and Law sighed in satisfaction as he tasted that delicious meal.

"I didn't know they had children teaching at the Kamabakka." Corazón resumed the previous talk and Law looked at him confused.

“Oh, he’s not _actually_ a boy. He must be ... maybe twenty years old. I don't know, but he behaves like a child.” He wiped his mouth and remembered something. “Ah, I think you know his brother! Do you remember Portgas D. Ace, the one who works with Shirohige? He is his brother.”

Corazón knew Ace because he had become very involved with adoption after Law came into his life. He knew the dangers that children faced living on the street better than anyone, almost as much as Law, who had lived through them, and had contacted Shirohige to help rescue children from those situations.

"Ace?" He asked, remembering and his eyes widened. “Are they Garp's grandchildren ?!”

He raised his eyebrow because the name was vaguely familiar but he didn't know from where.

"Garp? Grandchildren?" He asked, confused and put a piece of fish into his mouth. “What are you talking about?”

"Garp is a very good friend of your grandfather."

Sengoku. Law should have guessed. The adoptive father of Corazón, or Rosinante as his original name was, was a high command of the Navy. He remembered hearing Garp's name when Sengoku went to eat with them. He was his irresponsible, carefree and very reckless friend.

It was incredibly familiar to him.

"Is Luffy the grandson of a friend of grandad’s?" He asked, stunned.

“Yes, that! Luffy was his name. He is his youngest grandson.” Corazón tried to remember and the gesture he made was very funny to him. “Besides Ace, I know he has one more grandson.”

"Sabo," he added, seeing the recognition on Corazón's face.

"Exactly! Do you also know him?"

"From university," he explained, remembering that Sabo seemed the calmest of the three brothers, although Ace was the one with better manners.

“What a coincidence! I can't believe you're friends with Garp's grandchildren.”

"I'm not friends with them, Cora-san ..."

“Will they be at the party?" He didn't seem to hear him and went on with his fantasy.

“Luffy sure will, it was he who proposed the idea. I guess Ace too because the whole Shirohige household will be, but I don't know if Sabo will go.”

"Maybe Garp is going," Corazón theorized, looking at his plate but not paying attention to the food. “In that case maybe I should tell Sengoku to go too.”

He shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't have a very close relationship with Sengoku, but if he went it would be fine for him. 

"Can you ask any of the boys if they invited Garp?"

He frowned in shock. He didn't want to have to send someone private messages. Private messages! It was too much. It's okay that he did it with Ace when he really had a reason and that he answered Luffy's, but they were completely different things. However, Corazón insisted because, for some strange reason, he was excited about this discovered alleged kinship.

He decided to write to Luffy since he had already sent him a message a short time ago. 

The things he did for Corazón.

> [06/27 09:30 pm] Trafalgar Law: Luffy-ya, I know this may sound a little strange but my father just told me that my grandfather is a friend of your grandfather. He wants to know if Garp is going to the party to invite Sengoku too.

The answer didn’t take long to come. 

> [06/27 09:32 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: OMG
> 
> OMGGGGGGG 
> 
> DO YOU KNOW GRANDAD?

He sighed clutching his head.

> [06/27 09:34 pm] Trafalgar Law: No, Luffy-ya. My grandfather is a co-worker of yours, apparently. I just found out about this connection.
> 
> [06/27 09:35 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT 
> 
> I'M INVITING HIM RIGHT NOW

Why was that boy speaking in capital letters? He was beginning to wonder why he didn't write to Ace.

"Well, he says he's going to invite him now ..." 

"He writes just like Garp!" Corazón was surprised. “I saw the messages he sends to Sengoku. He overuses the capitals …”

He couldn't stop a laugh from seeping between his layers of grumpiness and coming to light. Corazón laughed with him, because it was funny and because nothing was making sense, but it felt good.

He didn’t follow up with the conversation, although he had the feeling that Luffy wouldn’t leave the topic there and he could already begin to regret opening that topic of conversation.

They finished dinner and Law washed the dishes while Corazón took out a dessert he had bought and prepared the couch where they usually sat to watch series such as Grey's Anatomy, The Resident or Dr. House. When he was done with the kitchen, he slipped into the seat that had so often sheltered him before, and was comforted by that sense of security and confidence that he had for that familiar space.

Dinners with Corazón always ended with an episode from some medical series and Law enjoyed watching the latest episode that had come out of Grey's Anatomy. He pretended not to notice that Corazón leaned against him to keep him close and acted as if he didn’t want that closeness that, in reality, he wanted more than anything on earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is my favorite. It has a playlist on Spotify and everything. I want it to come!
> 
> Again, eternal thanks to Chainedekura for the translation, for thinking each word and translating trying to make it in the original sense. I love you a lot.


	4. The Great Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this chapter was one of the things that pushed me forward when I started writing the fanfic. It has its own playlist and everything. The music is all in Spanish, it’s mainly argentinan cumbia and reggaeton, from the country I come from. It’s the music that’s played at parties and danced at discos. Basically the name of the list means ’Amazingly great cumbias’. I hope you laugh as much as I did while writing it.
> 
> I never had the chance to clarify that many of the things I write in this fanfic are based on real experiences and people I love, therefore there are scenarios and experiences, especially in this chapter, taken from life in Argentina. Anyway, it’s perfectly understandable, but you are warned.
> 
> I have Tumblr, its @anniedeodair 💜  
> Chapter playlist in the link below.

[Chapter playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Gd8QPOHuJdzJUln7sxSjg?si=5hBpssZzQTGxauaSN57LPg)

.

.

.

The club entrance was packed with people. The broadcast of the event had worked and both the neighborhood residents and guests of the Kamabakka attended the party to raise money for Tama’s family. Law hadn’t actively participated in the organization of the event. He only bought the bread and took it to Sanji the day before because he and the chefs at the Kamabakka and the club were going to start cooking earlier.

Law was at the door, waiting for his friends to arrive. Shachi, Penguin and Bepo had confirmed him and in addition Corazón and Sengoku would go later. He looked at his cell phone to check the messages and greeted some members of the Kamabakka that crossed his path. Zoro and Franky had arrived a little later and he saw them enter with bottles of booze and a guitar. 

“Law, hello!” Shachi's voice distracted him from the phone and he watched them cross the street. “Here we are. I parked the car on the next block.”

They greeted each other and Law smiled when he saw them all. 

“Thanks for coming.”

"Don't thank us, Law," Shachi said excitedly. “It's party time!”

He rolled his eyes. Of the four, Shachi was the most interested in social events. Penguin generally followed him everywhere and Bepo was more like him. Introvert.

"I'm hungry, let's go buy something," Penguin suggested, taking the ticket Law had given them.

"Remember you have a drink with the ticket, go ask for it at the bar." Law put his cell phone away and they entered the club. “But not you, Peng. You cannot drink.”

"I know, Law. I am the designated driver.”

The first thing Shachi did when he entered was look for the bar and ask for something. Penguin and Bepo bought food, and Law sat at one of the many tables they had set. They were like those of the Kamabakka, long and pinned against the wall. He saw Brook from a distance with Usopp, looking at a computer and the speakers. Surely for the music.

“Torao!”

The shout, which could only be from one person, came from behind. He saw Luffy running towards him with a smile.

"Hello, Luffy-ya," he greeted him warmly and saw the young man hand him a plastic cup filled with beer.

He hesitated to take it, he always avoided alcohol, just in case. The only vice he stayed with was cigarettes, which occasionally relaxed him. However, he accepted the offer because, fuck it, that was a day to celebrate cooperation and solidarity. 

"Did your friends come?" Luffy asked, looking towards the bar. Law nodded.

"Sengoku, your grandfather's friend, is also coming."

"Oh yes, right! Grandad is coming too. Sabo will bring him over.”

"Sabo is also coming?" It was nice to know that someone from his comfort zone would be there. He’ll have to approach his table when the others start dancing.

"Yes, and Robin and Chopper too."

Great. It was good news. His party ideal was to be able to escape dancing and not converse with anyone unless it was about medicine or another academic area that he handled more confidently.

"Hey, Luffy!"

The shout came from Usopp, who was still running the computer. On his side was Franky with the guitar, Brook with a violin, and Shachi, Penguin and Bepo chatting animatedly with them.

"You’ve already met?" Law muttered under his breath but Luffy seemed to hear him.

"Oh, those are your friends, Torao?"

He nodded as he put the cup on the table and approached the recently formed heterogeneous group with Luffy. Usopp put a hand on his friend's shoulder as soon as he saw him.

"We have to do karaoke!" He said with an excited smile and bright eyes. Luffy seemed to be on the same page and smirked. “It was the idea of this fella’s idea. His name is Shachi.”

Law saw him smile totally excited and shook his head. How could he not have considered this before? It was obvious that the people of the Kamabakka were just like Shachi and that they would instantly hit it off.

What had he gotten himself into.

"He is Torao's friend!" Luffy said confidently. “He is also our friend, now.”

“Torao?” Shachi asked, turning his head, not understanding who he was referring to.

Law raised his hand and stepped closer.

"Hello," he said grimly. “I believe that's me.”

Shachi and Penguin started to laugh out loud and Law knew it. He should’ve known and avoided it. He shouldn't even have invited them. 

"What’s a Torao?" Asked Bepo, who had only just entered the conversation and Shachi and Penguin burst out laughing again.

He looked at them as coldly and blackly as possible and instantly felt them tighten. He smiled, perhaps too sinisterly, and they both stopped laughing.

"So do we have a microphone here?" Usopp interjected, oblivious to the fear of his new friends.

“When we arrived with Nami and Vivi they said they did. Let me ask Tsuru.”

He remembered Tsuru because she went to the Kamabakka for medical attention. She had a great homemade tea recipe and Sanji had come to her house several times to learn it. She lived in Gray Terminal and was one of the neighbors who kept the Foosha club afloat.

Luffy ran out looking for her and Usopp looked at him with a shy smile. He knew him but they had seen eachother very little. The days that he had the Woodworking Workshop with Franky didn’t match with his but he had crossed them both when they went to the Kamabakka some other times. 

He chatted with them for a brief moment until Bepo pointed at Corazón, who had arrived with Sengoku. Law went to meet him and smiled when his father hugged him tightly. He was always so over the top with everything, including displays of affection.

"How are you, Law?" Sengoku asked, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"I'm fine, thanks for coming." He led them to a table and pointed to the bar. “There you can order something to drink or eat.”

"So is Garp coming?" Corazón asked. 

"Yes, Luffy told me he was coming later."

"Mh, Garp's younger grandson is just as troublesome as he is."

Corazón laughed at his adoptive father and looked at Law as if about to tell him a secret, although Sengoku could clearly hear him.

"Grandpa was the calmer of the two, supposedly. Garp was the one that made trouble.”

Sengoku began to tell them a story from his youth with Luffy's grandfather when they started in the marine. Garp had argued with a superior and they sent him to clean the floor. Sengoku saw him from a classroom and told him not to get into trouble. The next day he learned that Garp had been penalized for abandoning his punishment and staging a skating competition with the flannels he used to clean the floor.

He was outraged, as if he didn't understand Garp's eagerness to create trouble for himself, and Law had a terrible epiphany. He wasn't surprised by Garp's behavior, being like his grandson, but neither by Sengoku’s, who felt so his own. And that was chilling.

"Law, do you want something to eat?" Nami appeared behind him, greeting Law's family and offering him a hamburger. “We bought enough food for ourselves and put it on the table, want some?”

He looked at the bread with disdain and remembered when he went to buy it, disgusted.

“No thanks. I don't like the bread.”

“Really?” She asked puzzled. “That's weird. Everyone likes bread.”

Corazón frowned behind him and Law smiled, remembering that he wasn't much of a fan of the food either.

"I can tell Sanji to make you one on the plate, if you want."

"Now I’ll go and ask for something to drink, thanks anyway."

Nami smiled and looked for another member of the Kamabakka to offer them food.

After a while he bought onigiri and greeted Sanji in the kitchen. He didn't want to drink too much, but he had already accepted Luffy's beer so a little more wouldn't hurt. He ate at the table with Corazon and Sengoku, who had also bought some food, and then distanced himself a little when Garp arrived and began to talk to Sengoku. Law didn’t tolerate old-time marine talk, and although he loved his dad and grandfather, he was unwilling to hear how they would have liked their grandchildren to be Marines.

He went to Shachi, Penguin and Bepo, who had walked away from Usopp and Franky to eat at a table. He heard them chat about how fun everything seemed and how well they liked the people from the Kamabakka. They hadn't met Vivi and Nami yet, but Law knew they were nice and much more reasonable than the boys.

Suddenly, in the middle of a bite to his onigiri, the lights went out. Law raised his face and saw Franky, Brook and Usopp on the computer connected to the speakers. Colored lights were coming from somewhere he couldn't see and seconds later, the music started. Law was not a huge fan of parties. He wasn't at all, only reasons like these made him be in one, so he wasn't pleased to know that they would start dancing now and that he would have to go out to be able to listen to his own thoughts. Suddenly he wanted to smoke.

The music gathered many people to the center of the dancefloor, in the place they had left by setting the tables around and against the walls. He saw Luffy first, clapping and shouting louder than the music and Ace appearing behind him, a smile full of confidence. People started dancing and he saw Sabo in the background, leaning against a column and smiling as he looked at his brothers.

Law didn’t listen to music. Hardly ever. Not because he didn't like it, but because he couldn't find time to put on something that interested him. His friends said that they studied with music, but Law valued silence and couldn’t understand how they studied with so much background noise. He remembered seeing Corazón dance in the living room when he was younger and he liked that music. But he didn't want to dance either. Just staring at him while he seemed to have so much fun, being unconcerned and free.

Something like that seemed to be happening right now. 

The people in the center of the dance floor danced to that music so joyous and festive, with lyrics from harsh lives like that of Gray Terminal, celebrating that they all got together to collaborate with a neighboring family. Law smiled as he saw them, boys who went to the Kamabakka dancing with each other, parents whom he had treated several times laughing, his fellow Kamabakka members, who spent whole nights planning these events, dancing as if there was no tomorrow, fostering that feeling of community. 

He remembered Luffy's words. He had lived there and knew how difficult it could be to be forgotten by society, by public policies. He wanted to change that. Law wanted it too.

He saw them dancing and laughing and thought it was funny. His friends had gone too and he preferred to stay while drinking some beer. When the song changed, Luffy looked for his brother and they started dancing together. People made room around them and everyone watched them dance going down until reaching the floor. Law covered his face, very impressed, but also really amused. Sabo's face, open-mouthed as his two brothers danced so close to the floor, was another gem of the night.

He put down his cup and looked at his phone, but he only had messages in the Kamabakka group chat. They were photos of the night and the preparation. Some of the decoration, others of Sanji cooking and one of Luffy smiling after putting a garland... quite crooked. He noticed that someone sat next to him and was grateful that it was Marco. The Kamabakka's pediatrician was a serene man. He had a drink in his hand and was looking at the dance floor with the same distance as him.

"Marco, you made it," he said as a way of greeting.

"Yes, I came a little later." The doctor took a sip of his drink and sighed. “Ivan had forgotten the crown and I went to his house to look for it.”

Law laughed, because he knew what he meant, he supposed he would soon see the director of the Kamabakka in his special outfit.

“Do you work tomorrow?” Marco asked him, and he nodded wearily.

"Yes, I have to go early, what about you? Were you able to escape like my friends did?"

Marco laughed with his hand over his mouth and denied.

"I have to go but not too early. I'll have a few hours of sleep.”

"Well, luckier than me," Law said gently. “Is Shirohige coming?”

"Yes, a little later." He looked at his phone and looked back at him. “He is old and we don't let him go around that much, although if it were up to him he would go everywhere and come to the party to dance and drink as if he was twenty.”

Old Shirohige was an eternal man. He had run that home for years, although when Law was a boy it didn’t exist yet. He had seen him a few times and found him an inspiring person. He was the Corazón of many boys like him.

"He has to take care of himself, but a party once in a while can be forgiven," he said to the pediatrician with a smile.

Marco was a great friend of Shirohige from a long time ago. He was his first ally creating the home and later, when he entered the Kamabakka, he took it upon himself linking the two organizations. Thanks to him they could coordinate activities together and work centrally.

"Hey, Torao, boring people are not allowed at this party!" Luffy ran to his place and looked at him with a slight annoyance. “That goes for you too, Marco!”

"I was dancing a while ago with Inazuma and Ace," Marco replied, resting the cup on the table. “I'll go smoke a little.”

Law watched him go and looked at him as if he had betrayed him. Marco laughed and shrugged, not stopping his walk.

"I don't like dancing," he said monotonously when he turned to face Luffy.

"Today is a carnival day, Torao. The world is upside down!” He yelled over the music with a smile. “Everything turns around and today we are the kings.”

He took his arm and applied a massive force that didn't seem to fit that small body. Law got up from Luffy's push and couldn't stop him from taking him close to the dancefloor. 

"Come on, it's easy!" Said the little demon, moving in front of Law. “Just do what I do.”

"I don't know how to dance, Luffy-ya," he replied uncomfortably, he didn't like being the center of attention.

“No one knows, Torao! It's cumbia, it's to have fun,” he exclaimed, laughing.

Law tried to move, and Luffy seemed happier when he saw him react. He didn't know how to do it, he had no idea about it and he didn't like to feel other people's gazes.

"Look, you have to move your hip a little." Luffy, without any qualms or respect for privacy, touched his hip and held him to move him at the same rate as him.

Law was shocked. He appreciated his personal space and didn't like physical contact too much, and that boy was guiding him to dance! It was humiliating in many ways.

"Very well, you are good at this!" Luffy praised and Law wanted to roll his eyes. Or die. “Look, your friends are supporting you.”

Law turned his face and saw Shachi point a phone at him as Penguin clutched his stomach with laughter. 

They were making fun of him.

"Come on, Torao! You can do it!" Shachi exclaimed and Penguin couldn't take it anymore. He cried with laughter.

Law sent them a mortifying, murderous and terrifying look. Luffy didn't seem to notice and released him when he saw that he was moving on his own. The damn boy even seemed happy. When the song ended, Luffy stopped exhausted.

"Well, that was good, wasn't it?" His smile was not consistent with Law's emotions. “Did you have fun?”

He sighed, feeling defeated, but he also smiled a little. It was a surreal experience, but not necessarily a bad one.

"I definitely experienced worse things," he said, convinced and he couldn't help but smile.

Luffy seemed to speak again, but one of his friends called him. Before Law could blink, he had left to see Brook who had plugged in his electric guitar. He liked the live show better, it didn't force him to dance, and it was nice to see Brook play. Luffy was applauding in the front row, holding onto Usopp's shoulders and both of them with jugs in hand.

When that song ended, Franky continued on the acoustic guitar and Law decided to go out and smoke a little. He tried to do it as little as possible, but he wanted to be outside, without much noise or heat. He noticed that everyone had fun and even his friends cheered the musicians. Law smiled before going out for a while.

It was cool outside and he appreciated receiving that wind on his face. The cigarette smoke felt like a relief, although it shouldn't. He tried to get away from all kinds of addictions, he didn’t want to repeat his past or remember how he had been, but sometimes the odd vice calmed him and took him out of the nerves and stress that threatened to drown him. He blew out the smoke slowly and watched it vanish into thin air.

"Brat," he heard a few meters away. Garp was standing at the door of the Foosha club, lighting a cigar like himself. “You shouldn’t smoke.”

He raised an eyebrow, certainly indignant.

"You can't say that if you're smoking," he countered, and Garp laughed out loud.

"It shows that you are Sengoku's grandson."

He didn't like that comparison and decided to shake off the memory of Sengoku telling him anecdotes about Garp in the marine. It gave him chills.

"I'm a doctor, not a military man," he snapped with a certain disdain.

"You don't have to choose the same profession to look like your family," Garp said, moving closer and exhaling the smoke. “Or did you not see my grandchildren? Everyone into social sciences” he saw him frown as if he was saying something wrong and it amused him a bit, “and still, they can't deny who their grandparent is.”

"As I understand it, Ace-ya and Sabo-ya aren’t your biological grandchildren," he added to annoy him.

"No, but they're still just as monstrous as Luffy and me."

Luffy was definitely the most alike to his grandfather. And Garp was right. You didn't have to be a clone to have certain attitudes that were similar to those of your family. 

"I'm going in." He threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot.

He preferred to avoid conversations with Garp, because the questions he had been stuck with since he found out that he left his three grandchildren at Gray Terminal when they were boys would come out, and he didn't want to get in there. It was not his responsibility to demand anything from that man, but that story touched sensitive fibers in his body.

When he entered the club he noticed that there was no music. Tama and the girl's parents were talking where Brook and Franky used to play, and everyone was smiling happily. The mother thanked and hugged the father, who was crying speaking with a microphone in his hand. 

“We work very hard to survive,” he heard him say, moved, “and many times we are punished for taking the only option they left us. I am deeply grateful that my neighborhood continues to open doors for me.”

He remembered that Tama's father had been in prison for stealing food and it made him feel impotent, because he was also very vulnerable when he was a boy and did bad things, but there was never a contention for boys like him, poor, with addictions, with dismembered families. 

Corazón was his guide and he did it for the same reasons that now made Law work in the Kamabakka. His gaze met his father's and they shared a sincere smile. He could feel that Corazón understood his thoughts and was glad of all the cooperation that had arisen between the neighbors.

When Tama's family finished talking, Luffy reached out and hung the girl on his shoulders, who cried out happily and grabbed onto him like he was riding a horse. Ace was also out there cheering and he heard the family names chanted in shouts of encouragement and cheers. He found it quite cute. 

Ivan appeared making his triumphal entry. He had seen him several times at parties and Kamabakka events. He put a crown on his head and dressed as a queen while the boys shouted his name and asked him to grant them wishes. He wasn't sure why he did that, but he believed it was the character he created for parties, as a kind of superhero at children's parties. Queen Ivan fulfilled wishes and danced with the boys, along with Inazuma, the accountant of the Kamabakka, who was his king at all parties, although clearly overshadowed by the Queen. Not that Inazuma cared.

The party continued until later. He saw his fellow Kamabakka members eat, drink and shout many more times. His friends were even having a great time. He was surprised that he couldn't find Zoro anywhere, but he overheard a conversation from Nami with Vivi, who were dancing together on the dance floor, where they said that Zoro had been in the kitchen for a long time, supposedly because of the drink, although they didn't seem to believe him. He didn't quite understand why it would be a lie, as he knew Zoro was a fan of alcohol. 

Luffy approached him smiling, visibly drunk, his eyes bright. Law raised an eyebrow. He couldn't drink as much, firstly because he avoided it and also because he had an early shift the next day in the hospital. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo were able to get afternoon shifts, but cardiovascular surgeons weren't many, and if they needed it, Law had to go.

"You shouldn't drink anymore, Luffy-ya," Law said with a slight mock because of the boy's face.

"How boring, Torao," he mentioned, waving his hand with the cup of beer. “Don't you want some?”

"That must be warm, gross."

Luffy laughed as if he had told the funniest joke and put it on the table.

"Why don't we dance again?" He invited him, apparently very excited even though he was already tired.

"I'd rather not go through that humiliation again."

“It was fun!” Luffy shouted in his defense. “You had fun too.”

"There are some things that are only done once in a lifetime, Luffy-ya."

The boy seemed about to retort, ready to open his mouth and say more nonsense, when Sabo approached him from behind, with Ace in tow. 

"Luffy, we're leaving now, Ace is dying, I can't leave him here anymore. Do you want me to give you a lift?” Sabo looked at Law standing in front of him and smiled. He hadn't run into him all night. “Hello Law! Sorry I didn't get close, I was very busy taking care of my idiot brother who almost passed out from an alcoholic coma.”

"No problem, do you want me to check him?" He volunteered even though he had no instruments to do so.

"Don't worry, he's just tired," he replied, laughing as he looked at the body of Ace that he held from the shoulders and with one hand on his waist. “By the way, don't you live relatively close? Do you want me to take you?”

He opened his mouth to reply but turned his head looking at his friends, who were still partying shouting songs with Usopp and Franky. He found it funny.

Corazón and Sengoku had left long ago with Garp, when it became clear that the party was being run by the younger ones.

"Okay, I prefer to come back since tomorrow I have an early shift."

Luffy celebrated, who knows what, with his hands up. 

"Yay, Torao is coming with us!"

Law rolled his eyes but was unable to suppress the smile.

"Say goodbye to your friends, Luffy," Sabo said and left with Ace to find his car.

Luffy ran out to the same place where Law's friends were, so he followed him. He saw little Chopper with Robin, he hadn't spoken to them at the party, either, too busy running from the chaos. 

"Law!" He heard Chopper shout with a cheery smile. That boy was so adorable and he came over to greet him. “I didn't know you came.”

"I am also part of the Kamabakka," he replied, laughing.

"When I become a doctor, I will also work at the Kamabakka!" He snapped with conviction. 

Chopper was a little genius, he would surely finish the medical career before most. He was a minor and had already entered university. It reminded him a bit of himself, but Chopper was a joyous light and Law was the opposite. Maybe that's why he couldn't resist that adorable little boy who wanted his advice. Sooner rather than later he would stop having advice to give him.

"It would be a good idea, Chopper," he agreed, looking down. The boy was much shorter. “We always need help from more doctors and even more if they are geniuses like you.”

The boy blushed and began to shift, denying as he always did when someone flattered him.

"Law, how are you?" Robin greeted him warmly and he turned to face her.

"Hello Robin, I'm fine, and you?"

"I’m alright, waiting for my husband to finish singing," she said, laughing and staring at Franky. 

Sometimes he forgot that the woman he knew from university was married to the carpenter and engineer of the Kamabakka. That had not been so coincidental; they all met while studying on the university campus after all.

“How are your preparations for the Archeology Seminar?” Robin seemed excited by his question and Law smiled slightly. He liked it when people were passionate about what they did.

“Really well, I spent some nights preparing my presentation. I like the subject, not so much the seminar,” she hastened to add. “There are a lot of boring old men who talk about the story like it's an old piece of paper, but several of my students are going to make presentations as well, and I'm excited to see them.”

Robin taught history classes at the university. She had graduated a couple of years before him and was conducting historical research with her team of students while she was a teacher. Law was absolutely sure that this woman was one of the smartest people he had ever met and he admired her quite a lot.

"It will be tedious, to be sure, but your boys will shine," he said, referring to Robin's research team.

“Torao!” Luffy shouted, interrupting their conversation. “We must go, Sabo is already in the car.”

Shachi approached with a frown.

“Aren't you coming back with us, Law?"

"I have an early shift tomorrow, Sabo is going to give me a ride home."

Bepo raised his hand in a greeting and Penguin dismissed him as well.

“See you tomorrow!” Shachi shouted with a huge smile. Damn their afternoon shifts that he couldn't have.

He left the Foosha Club with Luffy and they got into the backseats of Sabo's car. Ace was already more awake sitting in the passenger seat and with the seat belt.

"Sabo, I'm hungry," he heard him say. “Can we order some hamburgers?”

"It's two in the morning, Ace. Also you ate at the club!” Sabo snapped, starting the car. 

Law was not used to using his car too much, but Sabo seemed to use it more often and knew how to drive on the narrow streets of the neighborhood that had confused him the night of the fire. 

“I'm going to go by a gas station, I'm running out of gas.”

"Perfect, let's buy something to eat!" Luffy shouted next to him, making him deaf. Ace turned around, apparently in agreement.

He saw Sabo roll his eyes in the rearview mirror but a smile crept between his expressions and it was fun to watch him play the most uncompromising role of the three when in reality he was so much alike that he couldn't hide it.

"You've calmed down too, Luffy."

"I was fine, Sabo. Don't be so _over the top_.”

"I saw you pretty drunk a little while ago," Law teased with a smug smile and Luffy turned to face him with a frown.

Ace laughed out loud, a laugh that made it clear he was not yet detoxified.

"Luffy thinks he's immune to alcohol."

"I think his natural state is quite similar to his drunk state," Sabo said, and he earned a click of Luffy's tongue.

While Ace was teasing his brother, Sabo entered the gas station and got out of the car to fill the tank.

“Want something?” He asked, leaning out of the window.

Law took a bill out of his pants and handed it to Sabo.

"Would you bring me a coffee?"

"I want chocolate, Sabo!" Luffy shouted, almost throwing himself out the window, not caring that Law was there. “And croissants!”

"A coffee and croissants for me," Ace said, and Sabo rolled his eyes. “I’ll go with you, I have to go to the bathroom.”

The older brothers got out and Luffy seemed more restless than normal. Did alcohol make him hyperactive? Weird. It always made him depressed and melancholic.

“Torao, when are we going to party again? Today was a lot of fun, your friends are great!”

"I think they liked you too. You are as troublesome as they are.”

Luffy laughed out loud with a clean sound. As if it cost him nothing to laugh and make everyone silence themselves.

"Did you see them dance? They destroyed the dancefloor with Usopp and Franky. We have to go to those clubs where there’s music, games and food!”

He wasn't much of a fan of partying. He recalled that during his college years his Saturday night outings were in his room with Shachi, Penguin and Bepo studying and drinking coffee made by Corazón. 

"It's not really my thing, Luffy-ya."

"Come on, don't be boring. The Kamabakka's camping trip is coming soon and if you are the boring one I swear I will throw you into the water and…” He paused for a moment and then opened his eyes wide. “Right !, you’re going to the camp, right?”

Then he understood it. He closed his eyes cursing internally. He had listed himself as the doctor in charge of hiking with the Kamabakka boys and other team members who would go as coordinators. He wasn't surprised that Luffy had signed up as well. After all, he was the type of person who would light a fire, roast marshmallows, and sing songs. Although maybe he would burn the marshmallows. 

"Yes, and I'm already regretting it."

"It will be a lot of fun, Torao. Usopp, Franky, Vivi and Sanji will also go.”

Law liked excursions very much and even more if they were with the Kamabakka children and doing his medical work. The idea didn’t sound bad, but Luffy there would mean that he would have nothing under control and that destabilized him a little. 

"We’re going to light a campfire!"

And there it was. Damn, that was going to turn into a Disney movie and the idea made him want to throw up.

Sabo arrived at the car with a cardboard holder that held four cups and a Styrofoam tray with six croissants.

"Ace?" Was the first thing he asked.

"He didn't come back yet."

"He must have slept in the bathroom," Luffy said, laughing as if it was funny.

Sabo handed the food to Law and ran away. Luffy was still laughing, although he attacked the thermal cups when he had them nearby.

"Wait." He removed Luffy's hand from the cups and checked one by one to find the boy's. “This one, take.”

Luffy brought the hot chocolate to his lips and sighed with pleasure. He also put a croissant in his mouth and spoke at the same time.

"You are a disaster. You know that, right?”

"You say that but you have fun with me, I know."

Law felt something strange when he heard him say that. He didn't quite know what, but maybe it had to do with whether it was true. He would never admit that out loud.

Sabo came back holding Ace like when they left the party and put him in the seat. Law knew Ace had narcolepsy, but it was controlled with medication. He sensed that he had not taken them to get drunk that night and so now he suffered an episode.

"Coffee is going to help." Sabo held out the cup and Ace took it carefully. Luffy brought a croissant to his face and he grabbed it like he was desperate.

Well, Luffy was the same. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

They started the car again and the rest of the journey was enjoyable. Luffy was drinking his hot chocolate and had approached him for unknown reasons. He looked a little tired and he understood why. He had been decorating the club with Nami, Vivi and Usopp all day, organizing the party and actively participating in it. He understood that he was exhausted.

He heard Sabo and Ace talking about things that he didn’t fully understand and Luffy had leaned back against his arm, with his head on the seat and close to his shoulder.

"I'm sleepy." His tone sounded like a tantrum and made Sabo laugh.

"Don't use Law as a cushion, Luffy," Ace scolded. “You can't lie on everyone.”

"Torao doesn't mind."

He had assured it so firmly that Law was about to speak to deny it, to show him that he couldn’t speak for others so surely when he didn’t know the truth, but he did not. Because it was true anyway. They were already coming home after all and it didn't bother him that Luffy leaned on him.

Sabo entered his neighborhood and left him in his building after some indications. Luffy was slow to detach from him to let him down and yawned as he greeted him.

"Goodbye, Torao!"

He thanked them for bringing him in and when he was opening the door to his apartment hall he couldn't help but smile at the stupid nickname.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have huge thanks to Daena and Chaindekura. At this point in life we are already an organizing company of fanfics. Writing, correction, organization, translation and soon we will incorporate an art department. No, seriously, I really don't know what this fanfic would be without them. I still remember the summer when we were walking on the beach with Daena talking about this story and especially this chapter. Thanks for insisting so much on the scene of Ace and Luffy twerking to the ground.
> 
> Chaindekura called me last night to finalize the latest correction for the English version. I cannot explain the work that this guy does and the dedication with which he thinks each word so that the characters are characterized as I thought them in Spanish.
> 
> This note was written by me, so mistakes in the language are my fault haha.


	5. The Hats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for supporting this fanfic. Writing is a huge dedication that many times brings satisfaction and frustration. Constantly assembling and disassembling everything. Timelines, calendars, diagrams, lists of characters and events. All of this is writing and that’s why I wanted to share the Kamabakka activity schedule that I made when I started writing to order the activities of all the boys. I think it may help to look at it for orientation.  
> Disclaimer: if Law wears black, I didn't copy this fanfic to anyone

[Kamabakka activity schedule](https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ErC1qPGxHLkhb3wpnnbEDJhBOmuS-t7/view?usp=sharing)

.

.

.

Law made coffee while dressing to go to the hospital. He hadn't slept much the night before, but his trouble falling asleep and the Kamabakka party gave him an hour and a half with luck. He was used to dealing with lack of sleep but that day he felt exhausted. He hoped he didn't have to do surgery on anyone. He wanted a quiet day.

While traveling to the North Blue, on the subway because he decided not to drive, he looked at his cell phone. He had several messages from his friends' group chat, from the Kamabakka, from Corazón and even from Luffy. He never had so many messages, but he supposed they had to do with the party.

There were photos in the Kamabakka group chat. Brook playing with Franky, Usopp and Luffy dancing, Ace and Luffy twerking to the ground, Nami and Vivi dancing. They were all funny and were living proof that everyone had fun that night.

> [07/05 12:23 am] Nami Kamabakka: LOOK AT THIS!
> 
> 📷 Photo

The image had been taken in the kitchen of the Foosha Club and there were two people nearby. If it was up to him, he’d say it was Zoro and Sanji, but they were rarely seen this close, they were always arguing.

> [07/05 12:23 am] Nami Kamabakka: THEY ARE DANCING.

Maybe they were too drunk. They would surely regret it when they saw the photos. He reviewed other messages, Corazón had thanked him for the invitation, said he had a great time and wished him good night. His group of friends had a video that Shachi had sent.

> [07/04 11:15 PM] Shachi: Dr. Torao has some AMAZING MOVES.

He downloaded the video and almost died of a heart attack right there —which would be very ironic considering he's a damn cardiovascular surgeon— when he saw himself dancing cumbia with Luffy. He was going to set that idiot on fire. 

He never considered pyromania, but he felt particularly murderous that day. 

Before going crazy, he checked Luffy's message. 

> [07/05 05:47 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Shachi gave me the video where we danced, it's great! Look.
> 
> 📷 Video

If a vein did not burst in his face, it was because his self-control was well trained. And damn it, what was Luffy doing awake less than an hour ago? Wasn't he dying of sleep in the car?

> [07/05 06:34 am] Trafalgar Law: That video has to disappear.
> 
> What are you doing awake at this hour?

Luffy was online, apparently not yet asleep. 

> [07/05 06:35 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Toraoo! are you already at your work
> 
> Is it that late?
> 
> [07/05 06:36 am] Trafalgar Law: Weren't you sleepy?
> 
> [07/05 06:36 am] Luffy Kamabakka: When we got home, Ace fell asleep in my bed and with Sabo we had to take him to his.
> 
> When Ace lived here he slept in the same room as Sabo.

The image of Sabo and Luffy came to mind, carrying an Ace half asleep, drunk and tired down some stairs. The three brothers were very eccentric and strange.

> [07/05 06:37 am] Trafalgar Law: That still doesn't explain why you stayed up until six in the morning.
> 
> [07/05 06:38 am] Luffy Kamabakka: After I put Ace to bed, I got hungry and stayed playing on the computer. 
> 
> I didn't know it was so late.
> 
> [07/05 06:40 am] Trafalgar Law: I would say it's rather early, Luffy-ya

He got off the subway and put the cell phone in his pocket. The entrance to the North Blue was clear; It was Sunday morning, nobody but those who came back from parties and got drunk were around. 

He greeted his workmates at the reception, and exchanged some words with a nurse who had to give them some papers from a patient. He looked for another coffee to stay awake and looked for his doctor's gown in his office, where he left his things.

His cell phone vibrated.

> [07/05 06:58 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Meh, today is Sunday, I only play soccer at night.
> 
> Hey, I know!
> 
> Do you want to come over? We are missing a player.
> 
> [07/05 07:04 am] Trafalgar Law: I don't like soccer.
> 
> [05/07 07:05 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Boooring
> 
> I will ask Ace.
> 
> But you can come see us if you want!
> 
> Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Vivi, Usopp and other friends also play.

He was intrigued to see his Kamabakka workmates playing a soccer game. He imagined them all giddy, uncoordinated and chaotic, but still victorious. 

> [07/05 07:06 am] Trafalgar Law: I can't, Luffy-ya. I have something to do at night.

His friends had agreed to get together for a drink after their afternoon shifts. Law might try to get some sleep before seeing them, maybe he could have a nap on the couch. He seemed to be able to sleep in that uncomfortable place and not in his bed.

> [07/05 07:06 am] Trafalgar Law: Then tell me how it went. 
> 
> [07/05 07:08 am] Luffy Kamabakka: I will send you photos!

A smile tugged at his lips. He was a very silly boy, but also a warm one. And the heat always did things to Law.

> [07/05 07:10 am] Trafalgar Law: I'm going to work, you should sleep. 

He stuffed his phone into the pocket of his doctor's gown but felt it vibrate. Surely a silly message where he refused to sleep or labeled it boring. 

> [07/05 07:10 am] Luffy Kamabakka: You're not funny at all, Torao.

.

.

.

He woke up with a crooked neck, as always. Sleeping on the couch was the worst, but at least he had rested. He sat up pulling the blanket that he always left there and the sound of the television in the background began to fill his ears. 

He looked at the cell phone. The light made him squint. There was still time to go to Penguin's. At least it didn’t happen as with Corazón. He asked the group what they wanted to eat and they answered sushi. He would make sure to order onigiri too.

> [07/05 06:38 pm] Trafalgar Law: I’ll buy on my way there, you guys are still at the North Blue?
> 
> [07/05 06:45 pm] Bepo: We leave in fifteen minutes and then we’ll go to Penguin’s. 
> 
> See you there.

He had time to take a quick shower, find his long coat, and call the sushi place before leaving. He picked it up on the way to Penguin's and bought a few beers at the supermarket.

> [07/05 06:53 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Torao! We are going to the soccer field
> 
> There is still time, don't you want to come?

He walked down the supermarket line with the beers in hand and laughed at the boy's message. 

> [07/05 06:55 pm] Trafalgar Law: Hi Luffy-ya, did you wake up from an afternoon nap or didn't sleep at all?
> 
> I can't go, I told you I was busy.

With how late Luffy had gone to bed, he wasn't surprised if he hadn't got up awhile before leaving his house for the soccer game. The phone vibrated again and he received a photo of Luffy. The boy stuck out his tongue like a child and looked at the camera with a frown. 

> [07/05 06:56 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Your lost
> 
> BoringTorao.
> 
> [07/05 06:58 pm] Trafalgar Law: I hope you win, you’ll surely do much better without me.

He paid the cashier and went back to the car. Penguin's apartment was not far from his house, he was the one that lived closest to the North Blue and that's why they used to meet there after work. He told them he was at the door and when his friend came down to open it for him, Law brought out the beers and the sushi. Penguin grabbed the food bag and they went up the elevator.

"How was the morning shift?" He asked with a kind smile. Law snorted.

“Torture. But at least there was no surgery, how are you?”

Penguin laughed as he opened the elevator door and they went out to his apartment.

"A damn hell. We all had emergency surgeries.”

Well, it was only fair considering that at seven in the morning, Law was not at all rested enough to face emergencies at the hospital. They had the afternoon shift, but that always was more agitated.

They entered the apartment and greeted Shachi and Bepo who were already setting the table. 

"Hello, Law, could you get some rest?" Bepo was always considerate of him, he was the youngest one and he seemed a kind of younger brother because he cared a lot about everyone.

"I fell asleep on the couch. My neck is crooked but at least I slept a few hours.”

They opened the sushi, Penguin served the glasses and he grabbed an onigiri. 

"You have no idea how the watch was today!" Bepo began to tell him. Shachi snorted.

“A shit day, who suffers so many accidents on a Sunday? go to sleep!” Shachi was always ranting a lot and more if it was about work. “Peng had two emergency deliveries, TWO!”

"I had three children in surgery," Bepo told them, recalling the three cases and how their injuries had been accidental.

"And there were several consultations as well," Shachi continued. “We had almost no rest.”

He was amused when he complained about the lack of time for coffee at work, because they never knew what the day would be like in the hospital. There were evenings that were filled with emergencies and scheduled operations and others that not a fly passed and they only had the occasional consultation. Many times they could not rest in the hospital dining room and had to work several hours in a row. It was impossible to know what day it was going to be when they entered the North Blue. He, at least, found that uncertainty interesting.

He stopped paying attention to Shachi's complaints and checked his phone because he had felt it vibrate in his pocket.

> [07/05 08:05 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: We wooooon!
> 
> 📷 Photo

He laughed covering his mouth when he saw the photo of Luffy with two fingers raised towards the camera, eyes closed and a blinding smile. In the back he saw a boy with long blond hair, lying against the grass of the field. 

> [07/05 08:05 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: You should have come Torao, it was great!
> 
> [07/05 08:05 pm] Trafalgar Law: I guess so, but I was busy.
> 
> I am with Shachi, Penguin and Bepo.
> 
> [07/05 08:05 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: OH
> 
> Send him greetings !!
> 
> WILL THEY WANT TO COME AND PLAY?

He raised his eyebrow at the idea. He wasn't sure how predisposed to sports his medical friends were, but he assumed Shachi and Penguin enjoyed physical activity.

"Hey, Law, what are you doing?" Shachi asked, looking at him oddly. “Are you talking to some girl?” His eyebrows arched suggestively and he laughed, as if he didn't take it seriously.

"It's Law, Shachi." There was Bepo, always justifying it, as if those simple words explained something beyond what they said.

"I know," Shachi laughed, "but maybe he would surprise me. Who are you talking to?”

"Luffy-ya," he replied, setting the phone down on the table. “He said they were missing one for a soccer game and asked if I could.”

Shachi, Penguin and Bepo were silent looking at him. Then they started laughing.

"Law playing soccer?" Shachi said with a laugh. “How funny.”

"But he asked me if you would like to go to the next one," he continued without flinching.

They fell silent again, but this time they didn’t laugh.

"It could be ..." Penguin mused and sought Shachi's complicity. “I would do it.”

“Me too, we had a good time at the party with them, it will surely be the same in a soccer game.”

Law wanted to warn them, he wanted to tell them that Luffy seemed someone not to be underestimated. Although he was very nice and happy, he was sure that on the field he didn’t leave anything behind. He had never seen him play before, but he seemed quite determined and strong on his own.

> [07/05 08:14 pm] Trafalgar Law: Shachi and Penguin say they want to play. They are convincing Bepo now.
> 
> [07/05 08:20 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: That's great !! I'll let you know the next game.
> 
> 📷 Photo

He had sent him another picture of him eating a huge plate, with lots of meat and chips. It looked like a bar and he saw his friends in the background. Surely they had gone out to party after the victory.

"Earth calling Dr. Torao." Shachi's voice broke into his thoughts and Law frowned at him. His friend continued to laugh out loud at the stupid nickname Luffy gave him.

"Do you want to play, Bepo?" Penguin asked, reaching up to grab a sashimi.

Bepo seemed to think about it, but finally agreed.

“I could try." He looked at him and he knew what he was going to say. “You too, Law?”

He shook his head.

“I do not like football.”

"Oh come on, Torao, do it for Bepo and Luffy!" Shachi insisted with a mocking smile and Law shot him a murderous look.

What did he mean by that?

"I'll go look. From the outside,” he remarked to make it clear.

Penguin handed him a glass of beer to calm him down and Law thanked him, taking a sip. Shachi was not scared, he kept laughing and changed the subject back to the day on call they had had.

> [07/05 08:30 pm] 
> 
> Luffy Kamabakka has added you to the group “Soccer”
> 
> [07/05 08:14 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Welcome, Torao, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo! The next time we play a game is next Sunday!

Law stared at his cell phone in astonishment, feeling a vein burst at any moment.

> [07/05 08:15 pm] Trafalgar Law: Luffy-ya, I don't play soccer!!
> 
> [07/05 08:16 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: But in order for you to cheer us on, Toraooo 

He put the phone down on the table and sighed. He already felt Shachi's mocking laugh when reading those messages in the group that they had also been added to.

"And since when does he have your numbers?" Law asked, remembering that Luffy had sent him the video Shachi filmed.

"Luffy gave us his number at the party," Bepo said. “And also Usopp’s.”

"Nami's too," Shachi added dreamily. Penguin rolled his eyes.

"You know she is dating Vivi, right?" His comment bursted Shachi’s who looked at him in surprise.

Law didn't know that either, but it didn't seem strange to him. She always noticed them very close, they could have been best friends or a couple. Shachi clicked his tongue and looked at his cell phone.

"They look good together," he said quietly, and Penguin laughed softly.

"They make a nice couple," Bepo agreed.

They kept talking until later and ate all the sushi Law had brought. Bepo ordered ice cream over the phone because Shachi wanted to eat something sweet. They talked about the party, work, Corazón, —which everyone loved very much— if he had a partner, if he was dating someone. His friends considered Corazón as the father of the group and were always interested in him or in his love life. When he had dated people, they wanted to know how, when and where. Law thought it was cute and he knew Corazón liked it.

"And what about you, Torao?" Shachi asked with an insinuating gesture, raising his eyebrows. “When are you going out with someone?”

He looked at him with a dark expression that didn’t threaten him, as it never did. He didn't like what he was implying.

"Never," he said bluntly.

"Come on, you've never let anyone treat you like he does, he made you dance!"

He felt shocked, as if what Shachi said was an unique occurrence, which he had never heard or thought about. 

“What do you mean?” He asked in a low voice, dangerously dark. Penguin and Bepo looked at them from outside, turning their heads from side to side. “Luffy-ya treats everyone like this, I already tried to get him to leave me alone, but it didn't work. In addition, he made everyone dance at the party, he even twerked with his brother!”

Shachi laughed, looking back at his cell phone.

"And the nickname? Where did it come from?"

He didn't like being questioned about things, or feeling like he had to explain himself. He didn't have to say anything about his relationship with Luffy.

There was no such relationship! They weren’t even more than acquaintances!

"I don't know where it came from, but now several of the Kamabakka call me that," he said defeated.

He had heard Zoro and Nami say so after hearing Luffy call him by his nickname. He didn't understand where it came from either or how Luffy had named him that way even before he met him. 

"I think ..." Bepo interjected, stealing everyone's attention, "that Luffy is very spontaneous and unpredictable, and when you associate with him you can't be in control of what's going to happen. I think it's weird to see Law with someone like that because he always has control over everything.”

A silence took over the environment. Law thought about it. Bepo certainly read him very well. He tried to avoid those things which he had no control over and Luffy was too elusive for that. 

"But Luffy is like that with everyone," Bepo continued, "so it’s logical that we see as strange the relationship between two people so different."

"There is no relationship," he said flatly again, but his friends ignored him.

"It would be a disastrous relationship," Shachi chimed in. “Can you imagine the daily arguments?”

He thumped his chest and coughed as if accommodating his voice.

"Luffy-ya, I told you not to leave the shampoo and conditioner on the floor," he said in a dark voice, imitating Law. “But Toraoo, I can’t reach where you put the shelf!”

Penguin laughed out loud and even managed to get a giggle from Bepo. Law wanted to banish them and go back in time to avoid being their friend. 

“You're the one who didn't reach where Corazón had put the shelf for the bathroom products!” He scolded, remembering when Shachi was bathing in his house.

"They were very high in that house!"

Although Shachi insisted again by mocking Law with the cursed nickname that Luffy had given him, they didn’t bring the topic up again. They complained about their work day again and talked about the party until they got tired. Law relaxed when there were no more questions about Luffy; something in his chest was calmed by not having to answer questions to which he himself had no answers.

.

.

.

When he entered the house, it was after one in the morning. They had stayed up late chatting with their friends and now he really needed to rest. He took off his clothes on his way and promised to put them together the next day. Luckily on Monday he didn't work and could sleep late.

Who was he cheating, he could never sleep late.

He lay back on his bed and ducked under the covers. He looked at his cell phone once more and saw several unread messages. From his friends and he had some from Luffy too.

> [07/05 11:22 pm] Luffy Kamabakka: Your friends are so funny. I love the bear stickers that Bepo sends!

Why did he have to tell him in their private chat? There was no need and he still found himself answering him.

> [06/07 01:27 am] Trafalgar Law: He has an obsession with polar bears.
> 
> As a child he went to all the zoos in the city.

He wasn't surprised that he was online and that he responded so quickly.

> [06/07 01:30 am] Luffy Kamabakka: How cool! Ace carried me when I was a boy.
> 
> I really liked monkeys.
> 
> [06/07 01:32 am] Trafalgar Law: I don't know why it doesn't surprise me.
> 
> You have an incredible resemblance.
> 
> [07/07 01:22 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Thanks! You're great too, Torao, but you don't look like a monkey.
> 
> I'd say you're like a meerkat.

He raised his eyebrow and looked at the cell phone with a frown. Definitely he didn't picture himself as a meerkat.

> [07/07 01:33 am] Trafalgar Law: Cora-san took me to the zoo as a boy.
> 
> I really liked seeing the sea lions. Cora-san gave me a hat inspired by them and I wore it all the time.

He didn't know where all that revealed information came from. He didn't have to say it. Only his friends knew intimate things about him and although he had not told him anything too profound, he did know that those experiences had been treasures for him.

> [06/07 01:35 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Seriously ?? That's great!! I would like to see it someday.
> 
> I also wear a special hat. I never take it off.

He remembered seeing Luffy in a straw hat and it seemed strange to him because it was not summer nor did it ever seem to match the clothes he was wearing.

> [06/07 01:35 am] Luffy Kamabakka: It was given to me by a man I met at Gray Terminal when we were boys. 
> 
> He rescued me from a gang of thugs who had grabbed me and gave me his hat.
> 
> Someday I would like to see him again. All I know about him is that he was a backpacker.
> 
> He traveled everywhere meeting and living with the people of the towns he visited. 
> 
> I thought he was incredible.

It was a cute story, but he also felt it was important to Luffy. As if he was revealing something intimate, a window to himself, his past and his experiences that Law was not sure he could handle. He knew how to control the level of trust placed in him by Corazón and his friends, but someone new, telling him things like that, was very fast-paced.

> [06/07 01:41 am] Trafalgar Law: I noticed that you always wear it.
> 
> I didn't know it was that important.
> 
> [07/07 01:45 am] Luffy Kamabakka: It’s my treasure.

It was so silly to have a hat as treasure, so childish and fragile and Law could understand it because he still kept that hat that Corazón had given him in the depths of his closet. His first gift. He felt like a boy again and remembered those first outings with him, when the man took care of him, made him snacks and made a place for him in his arms when he had nightmares. 

Corazón has always been there for Law, even when he had to choose between himself and his own family. Even when he had to carry him on his back and flee to have a life far from them. 

> [06/07 01:48 am] Trafalgar Law: It’s a great treasure.
> 
> [06/07 01:49 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Yours too, Torao! Someday you have to show it to me.
> 
> [07/06 01:49 am] Trafalgar Law: Someday, maybe.
> 
> Now I'm going to sleep, I'm very tired.
> 
> [06/07 01:50 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Rest well! I will continue playing on the playstation.

Law closed his eyes and couldn’t remove the image of both hats, side by side. He felt agitated and didn't know why. He was so sleepy that he couldn't dwell on the questions and things that kept him awake until dawn. This time he had to deactivate all his worries and sleep. 

Somehow, it seemed easier after talking to Luffy.

.

.

.

He woke up wrapped in sheets and with the pillow over his face. He had slept quite well. He always woke up in dreams, but that night wasn’t so frequent. He felt well rested.

Getting up and stretching his body made him sigh with pleasure. He walked to the kitchen and made himself coffee while he turned on the television and sat on the counter in front of the sink. He didn't mind watching the news that much, but he liked listening to something in the background while living in his house. Maybe he should buy a radio.

He turned on the computer and amused himself by reading reports that a co-worker sent him. He couldn't stop thinking about medicine even on his rest day. He also read the news, even though the television was showing them in the background. He always liked reading them more than listening to them. He reviewed the cases of coronavirus, read about the rebound of sexual diseases and even about the threat of dengue that plagued some parts of the south of the world.

He checked his notifications and read his cell phone messages on the web. He was surprised to see that Luffy had written to him at five in the morning.

> [06/07 05:07 am] Luffy Kamabakka: 📷 Photo
> 
> I found that image of a sea lion. It is just like you!
> 
> He has that "I'm bad, don't bother because I kill you" face but inside they are all soft.

Reading that message produced two emotions. At first he was scandalized. Then found it very funny. That sea lion's face really was menacing and he wondered if he really would look like this. 

> [06/07 09:22 am] Trafalgar Law: Soft inside?
> 
> I hope you say it just for that sea lion.
> 
> I'm still a tough guy.

He didn't know when he started joking with him, or when it became so normal to send messages with nonsense like that. Was Luffy like this with everyone? Was that why he managed to get along with anyone he knew?

Not that he did it with him. Although he was joking in the message, he really was a tough guy.

> [07/07 09:35 am] Luffy Kamabakka: We all know that’s not true, Torao.
> 
> You are the softest of them all.
> 
> [06/07 09:36 am] Tragalgar Law: What the fuck are you doing awake at this hour?
> 
> You went to bed after five!
> 
> [07/07 09:39 am] Luffy Kamabakka: I know, it sucks.
> 
> Sabo woke me up to study because I have an exam next week.
> 
> But I am so sleeeeepy

Luffy was irresponsible, loud and annoying. He understood why his brother had to be hard on him to focus. The degree he was studying had very theoretical classes and he didn’t imagine Luffy calmly reading philosophy, sociology and politics. The image of Sabo with a whip forcing Luffy to learn definitions flashed through his mind and gave him the chills.

> [06/07 09:41 am] Trafalgar Law: What class do you have to study for?
> 
> [06/07 09:41 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Techniques and Instruments for Intervention.
> 
> I like it because it is about how to intervene in the field, how to put theory into action.
> 
> I like it much more than the ones I did last year.
> 
> Sabo tied me to a chair to study law !! 
> 
> It was horrible.

He couldn't help but laugh with a clean chuckle. Apparently Sabo was much worse than he imagined.

> [06/07 09:42 am] Trafalgar Law: I also had classes that I hated, it’s normal.
> 
> [06/07 09:43 am] Luffy Kamabakka: But you are super intelligent, surely nothing was hard for you.

It was not a lie, certainly Law had it easy memorizing and for the biological sciences more than anything else. However, that doesn’t mean that some test hadn’t been difficult for him.

> [06/07 09:48 am] Trafalgar Law: The biomedical part of the degree bored me a little.
> 
> The classes on chemistry and biophysics were heavy and boring.

He recalled his early years studying and how he wanted to reach the clinical part and study for the surgery classes. That's when he met Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo, who were amazed at his remembering capabilities. In fact, he had tried harder than ever with these classes because they were the ones that bored him the most and he found it hard to concentrate.

> [07/07 09:49 am] Luffy Kamabakka: I didn't understand anything you said.
> 
> That proves my theory that you are a genius.
> 
> [07/07 09:49 am] Trafalgar Law: Each one is a genius in his own area, Luffy-ya.
> 
> You are a genius in soccer and you will be in your career.

There was no need to flatter him like that. There was no point in doing it. He mentally chastised himself for relaxing so much that he allowed himself to mindlessly write every word he said.

> [06/07 09:50 am] Luffy Kamabakka: You haven't seen me play, liar. You don't know how I do it.
> 
> But that’s not going to stay like that for long.
> 
> The next game you will be there. 
> 
> If I can convince you, on the field.
> 
> [06/07 09:52 am] Trafalgar Law: Why do you want me to play so badly? I already told you, I'm very bad at it and I don't like it.
> 
> [06/07 09:52 am] Luffy Kamabakka: Because it's fun!
> 
> Or maybe you don't do anything for fun even if you don't master it well?
> 
> You don't have to do only what you do well, Torao. 
> 
> That is tremendously boring.
> 
> AND LONELY!

His eyes went blank, surprised to read those words on the computer and he lowered the screen. 

What an idiot, how he let his guard down like that to allow Luffy to read him so well. Or was that the hidden power that explained his magnetism? Maybe he didn't understand what he was talking about when he mentioned his medical classes, but that boy really knew about emotional intelligence.

It made him dizzy and scared that he would mention his lack of control over things and even more that it was him, who was gradually dismantling him piece by piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter earlier in the year, that's why I mentioned coronavirus. At that time I could not foresee what this disease would be for us. I left it as an easter egg.


	6. The Sea and the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of my favorite chapters ♥ Thank you for reading this story, leaving kudos or commenting, although mainly, enjoying them. You can follow me on Tumblr. I'm @anniedeodair. I also have twitter, but there I use it more as a normal person haha and I do not think anyone is interested in what I think of my government (?

When they arrived at the campsite, Law dropped the tent on the ground and sucked the fresh air. You could breathe the tranquility. Not sleeping had been worth it to get there early. The morning was sticking out among the trees and the boys got out of the bus with their faces asleep and full of yawns. Everything had turned out well, they managed to raise money selling cakes and food, looking for donations and organizing events and were able to do the camping trip. Law had not been able to participate much, beyond accompanying Sanji to sell his cakes and sweets at the squares, which was really a success. However he was attentive to everything that was done and he contributed when some money was needed or wasn’t enough for some other things.

He loved the excursions. He recalled his visits to the forest with Corazón as a kid and the times they camped as Law requested. It was strange, because at the same time he was moving away from social life, but when he was in a camping site, with a tent and a campfire, he felt really satisfied and warm. And when he was a child and he had Corazón, there was nothing better than resting his head on the man's lap in front of a fire while he tried to read him a chapter of Harry Potter.

"Well, girls and boys!" Usopp's shout was loud and clear, and all the boys paid attention to him. “Here we are! Time to pitch our tents and then have breakfast, okay?”

"The older ones, if you know how to set up your tents and can help the younger ones, give us a hand. We're going to help them.” Franky added with a bag slung over his shoulder.

They had managed to get twenty boys and girls to go to the camp, including Tama, whose parents insisted for her to go, even though the girl had originally wanted to stay. They still lived at Shirohige's, but they were using the money raised at the party to restore their home, although that would take time. Everyone had borrowed tents for the children who had a really hard time accessing one. Law had gotten several from his friends and Corazón; Luffy, Usopp, Franky, Sanji, and Vivi too, and even the other members who stayed had managed to bring several.

In total there were twenty-six people and various tents of different sizes. Franky had brought a huge one for six adults where seven girls entered, Tama among them. There were also two tents of four where two groups of children were settled and two tents for two people that were carried by the boys themselves, where the last remaining pairs were accommodated.

The coordinators' team had three tents for two people. Vivi and Usopp shared one, Franky and Sanji another, with complaints from Sanji about not being able to sleep with Vivi, and Luffy and Law in the last tent. He had found out about the partition when he returned from work, after several hours without touching the cell phone, and saw Luffy's message in the Kamabakka group chat that said "I’m asking Torao as a partner." He seemed like another child.

Franky set up the huge tent for the girls and Law helped him by placing the rods to make it look good, while he had left Luffy in charge of setting up the tent in which they would sleep. Unfortunately, he overestimated his ability to solve a simple two-person tent and asked Vivi to take his place with Franky as he ran before Luffy tore apart their own.

“What are you doing? That’s not how it’s done,” he snapped emphatically, snatching the rods from him and setting them right. “Get on the other side and receive them. Don't do anything, just make sure they’re going through and don't get stuck.”

Luffy laughed with his characteristic airy laugh and Law was already feeling stressed about having to stay with him. They were able to set up the tent and leave their bags inside. Luffy had brought a huge travel backpack with an insulator hanging and his sleeping bag rolled up.

"Ace lent it to me," he told him as he was arranging his huge backpack in a corner of the tent next to Law's bag. “When he was a teenager he went on a trip for a month with this backpack. Later Sabo used it when he went to a conference of I don't know what.”

All the tents were pitched and the boys had already left their things inside. Luckily, it wasn't very cold on those days, and nobody had many warm clothes on. At night, with the fire and the heat of the food and blankets, they would manage.

“Let’s have breakfast!” Vivi shouted with a smile, standing on top of a stone table in the campsite. “Sanji is preparing the food.”

Sanji had taken over the concrete grill installed on the campsite and showed out all the items he had brought to prepare his own outdoor food bunker. Law looked back to look at Luffy and ask him if he wanted breakfast, but the boy had already run off to Sanji's side.

"We eat at the end," he heard him say and was amused by Luffy's pout.

The boys took out their cups and sat at the camping tables and on the ground around blankets. Vivi, Usopp and Sanji passed by with jugs serving hot chocolate milk and handing out cookies. Luffy looked at Sanji with puppy eyes and managed to get the man to serve him a cup too before everyone else.

Law made himself an instant coffee that he had brought, because he was sure that he could not survive without it. And he sat down at a table with the rest of the coordinators. Luffy took a place next to him, stealing cookies from Usopp.

Around noon, Luffy organized a mixed soccer match with ten of the boys and girls, and Usopp took five of them on an expedition into the campsite where the foliage almost turned into a forest. Vivi, Sanji and Franky stayed with five boys who preferred to play cards in the camp. Law had prepared several emergency kits that each coordinator could have. Usopp had taken one and Luffy had another on the soccer field on the other side of the campsite.

However, as much as his intention was to stay in the camp, where the tents were with the others, Luffy insisted that he go with him and watch the kids play. In the end the one who managed to convince him was Sanji, arguing that if someone was hurt, Luffy would not know how to put a Band-Aid on.

And so he ended up sitting on the grass, watching Luffy act as a referee in a five-a-side football match. He didn’t understand anything, but he saw the youngest coordinator of the Kamabakka running everywhere, behind the ball and shouting everyone's goals as if they were his own. The kids really seemed to be having fun and even he smiled watching them score their own goals and celebrate together. Luffy had the ability to make no one angry and made games an exciting activity and not a competition.

“Goooaaal!” Luffy shouted, raising his hands and celebrating with a girl who was laughing next to him.

One of the boys approached Luffy and called him. He said something that Law didn’t hear, but after that, he left the field and sat next to him.

“You got tired?” Law asked him to check. “Or did you get hurt?”

The boy sighed, apparently exhausted, and threw himself onto the grass on his back.

"I got tired of running," he said, but a smile spread across his face.

"Luffy, you play!" One of the children yelled back at him.

"I can't, you guys have to play…”

Law understood why he didn't want to play, he would have more advantage and was bigger than the rest, but one of the girls ran up behind Luffy and pointed at them. Luffy locked eyes with him and started to laugh.

"Mocha says she wants to go out because she's tired and asked you to replace her, Torao."

Law opened his mouth in surprise and glared at Luffy's Machiavellian smile, because it was evident that the boy was enjoying it. The rest of the boys and girls began to jump and cheer for Law, and he felt compelled to respond. He really didn't want to say yes, but all expectations were placed on him. And on top of that he was a bad player!

He got up looking at Luffy with the most murderous face he could and stood in front of him.

"You’re going to pay for this." Luffy laughed at his apparent bad mood and handed him the ball.

"I give you the advantage," the boy said with a damn arrogant smile.

Law wanted to shoot the ball over his head, but Luffy started the game and found himself in the difficult task of not making his team lose. Keeping the ball in his control was a titanic task, who put a doctor with little motor skills to play ball?

The girls and boys who played were part of Luffy's soccer team at the Kamabakka and played much better than him. He ran fast and looked at the boys next to him, but especially Luffy because he knew he would want to steal the ball to make it more difficult for him.

A girl from Luffy's team scored a goal, but his teammates didn’t stop having fun and Law began to relax. He didn't have to pretend or exert himself, no one would judge him if he couldn't score a goal, those boys and girls were supportive and just wanted to have fun. That didn’t mean winning.

"Or maybe you don't do anything for fun even if you don't master it well? You don't have to do only what you do well, Torao.That is tremendously boring. And lonely!”

Luffy's words fell like an epiphany and he raised his face to see everything around him. The kids laughed out loud, passing the ball and making jokes. Luffy also had a huge smile and even those who had left watched the game with genuine interest. That made him relax, start taking the moment more calmly, and when he was close to the goal and one of the kids called him and passed him the ball, Law tried with all his might to aim there.

Luffy was yelling behind him, but didn't understand what he was saying. The moment seemed as if it were in slow motion. Law stood up and kicked, almost missing the right spot but sending it away anyway. When the ball crossed the goal, everyone burst into screams. Luffy seemed to be encouraging and when Law turned around surprised, he saw everyone approach him and he panicked thinking they were going to jump on him.

Luffy hugged him with a shout of goal and the boys joined him later, forming a human mass of arms that surrounded him. If he were claustrophobic he would be about to scream, but underneath it all, he felt warm and soft. He was very silly, he had only scored one goal, much less than what Luffy and his boys and girls could normally do.

When they parted, Luffy put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a bright smile.

“Was it fun?”

He couldn't help but smile, give him a smirk that came out of his brain without authorization, but that revealed more than any answer. Luffy released him and started to walk back to camp.

"Let's eat something, I'm starving!" He shouted at the boys and they all gathered to go back.

When he started walking, the boy who had come out first, Momonosuke, walked next to him and smiled. Law looked at him without removing his expression of relaxation and enjoyment.

"When you were about to receive the ball, Luffy told everyone to shout out your goal," he told him with the smile of a boy who didn't want to compete; just to celebrate a partner's achievement. “It was fun!”

He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't say anything. Had Luffy prompted the boys to celebrate his goal like that? He saw the Kamabakka soccer instructor walk towards the camp and couldn't help but smile. He gave himself the luxury of being happy, of feeling full. To be satisfied and relaxed.

"Sanji! Is there any food?"

The kids sat around the tables, and Sanji handed out drinks they'd brought from the coolers and handed out the food. Usopp's group arrived just a few minutes later. Law sat down next to Luffy, without realizing it, and when the boy looked at him with his charming smile, Law returned the gesture.

"Thanks," he said, because he had it stuck in his throat. “It really was fun.”

Luffy looked at him, a piece of meat hanging from his mouth and started laughing.

"I told you you had to do it, Torao. You’re not a bad player!”

Now it was his turn to laugh. He said it just to make him feel better, but it wasn't true. He clearly didn't know how to play and would never do it well. But being able to do it there, where nobody was going to judge him, where the boys and girls would be happy with their victories as if they were theirs, made him very happy in a way that he didn’t know he needed.

And that was thanks to Luffy.

.

.

.

Franky and Usopp had lit the fire and put logs around to sit. The children ate the dessert that Sanji had made and Vivi sang a song with some of the boys accompanied by Franky's guitar.

It had been a good first day. Law had only put a couple of band-aids on scrapes and had only had to chase two boys to put on repellent. No one had been seriously injured and good humor was in the air.

"Let's sing the Sogeking song!" Usopp shouted, climbing onto one of the logs.

The children seemed happy and started jumping while Franky played his guitar and Usopp and Vivi started the song. Luffy seemed to know it too, and in the chorus, everyone joined in.

"Lu, lu, la, la, lu!"

They had done a lot of things that afternoon and although Luffy tried to get him to play soccer again, he decided to stay in one place to make sure that all the kids were safe. He had coffee with Sanji in the afternoon and even played cards with Franky and Vivi.

The moment of the fire was where there was more intimacy and connection in the group. Usopp told fantastic stories, which many children believed, including Vivi and Franky. Luffy was laughing out loud at all of them, Law wasn't sure if he believed them or not, but he seemed happy to hear them. They went through all the camping rituals until it was late and everyone began to go to bed one by one. Law had stayed for coffee while the boys and girls got into their tents.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet, Law?" Sanji mentioned before getting up to wash some things.

"In a while, I'm not sleepy."

He actually knew he couldn't fall asleep, that was the reason more than anything. Many times he was sleepy, but he couldn't sleep. That made it more frustrating.

Slowly it became depopulated and the tents began to be the new center of conversations between the groups that settled down to sleep. The coordinators stayed outside for a while but some were already tired and went to their tents. Luffy approached Law with intrigue.

“Don't you want to sleep?”

"I can't sleep," he corrected, looking away from the boy. Luffy knew that about him, that's why he spoke to him when he stayed up late, because he knew that Law would be tossing and turning without being able to fall asleep. “You? Why don't you go to the tent?”

He saw him shrug his shoulders and smile at him.

"I sleep late, I don't feel like sleeping now. I'll stay with you.”

The other coordinators had gone to sleep. Law checked and the last one had been Sanji, who warned him that there was coffee in the portable refrigerator if he wanted more and how to heat it.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to," he emphasized, sitting down on the grass and resting his back on the wooden log that was Law's seat at the time. “We both sleep late, it’s good that we are tent partners, right?”

He smiled as if he nodded, and maybe he did. Thinking of it that way, Luffy was the best companion for tent camping.

"Is that why you chose me?" He asked with a mocking smile and Luffy laughed.

"No, Torao. I chose you because you are fun. I like talking to you.”

He wasn't surprised that he said that, but he was aware of what it produced in him, something that before he tried to avoid and now it was too real not to think about it.

"I'm not a conversation-goer. There is nothing great to talk to me about.”

Unless Luffy's sense of humor was macabre, which didn't seem to be the case.

“There is! The other day you told me about your hat and the sea lions. That was pretty cool.”

He pressed his hands into the pockets of his pants. That conversation was different from several others he had with Luffy and that caused him a dizziness and a vertigo little known to him. It made him feel uncertain.

He pulled out his phone and looked for a photo. He couldn't believe he was doing that and he felt in complete contradiction to his emotions and his usual style of reluctance in the face of people's attempts when they wanted to know more about him.

"Look." He handed him his cell phone with a digitized old photo. “Corazón took it when I was a boy.”

In the photo he was seen when he was a child, wearing a huge white hat with black spots, which looked very soft, posing next to a sea lion resting on the shore of the city port.

"Is it in Flevance?" Luffy asked with wide eyes and surprise on his face. “It looks like its port.”

He nodded silently and put the phone in his pocket.

"That was the hat I was telling you about."

Luffy seemed pleased with that piece of new information he had obtained from Law. He took his hat, which he had laid on the ground beside him, and placed it over his head.

"That hat doesn't fit you anymore, does it?" He asked with some innocence and Law smiled.

"No, Luffy-ya. It was very small.”

"You should have another one, then."

"It's not like I can go to a store and ask for a sea lion hat."

Luffy was not unmotivated.

"We'll figure it out."

They were silent for a while and Luffy leaned his head on the logs to see Law, who was staring at the extinguished fire with his eyes fixed and lost in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” The young man's voice distracted him and he turned his eyes to him. “Corazón?”

Luffy had briefly met Corazón at the party for Tama and his family. They didn't talk much, but he knew he was Law's father and Sengoku's son.

"Yes," Law replied, looking at him with a certain intensity that he couldn't avoid. “He gave me the hat. I was remembering that at first I didn't like it.”

Luffy looked amazed and his hand gripped his straw hat.

"Why not? It's a great hat!"

He remembered his own tantrum when Corazón put it on his head and smiled.

“Yes it was. But my problem was with Cora-san. I didn't like him,” he confessed, looking at the trees beyond the campsite, where Usopp had taken the kids on a day trip.

"Corazón?" Luffy asked, tilting his face, not understanding. “Why? He seems like a good person.”

"He is," he said quickly. “I was not.”

He didn't think he could see Luffy more surprised and was amused by the gesture he made, as if it was impossible to think of him doing something wrong.

"I don't believe you," he snapped convinced. “You can't be bad, Torao. You save lives! No one in the Kamabakka would be bad.”

"We all have a past, Luffy-ya," he mentioned, looking at the boy's face. “And when you lose your family, it's easier to be bad.”

Law knew he was not being clear, but his memories were not in order, nor were they clear about how he must feel about his past. It still hurt, burned and bothered him to think about it, but not as much as before. Every time less.

"But in the end you had a new family," Luffy interjected and assumed he was talking about Corazón.

"Yes, but it wasn't as good as it seemed." He went back to the story thinking he hadn't told anyone in a long time, and he didn't know why, suddenly, it seemed liberating to retell it. “When I was ten years old, after the death of my parents and my sister, a man adopted me. He wasn't Cora-san.”

Luffy looked at him closely, his eyes focused on him.

"He was his brother," he revealed with a half smile. “He took me to his house, where the entire Donquixote family lived. Cora-san was part of them. I never liked him at first because he wanted to get me away from his brother and the house.”

He saw the light of compression in Luffy's eyes. He had forgotten that the boy had lived a few years in Gray Terminal with his brothers. There was no way he didn't know the name Donquixote.

"Doflamingo adopted you?" He asked with his mouth open. Law nodded.

"I was part of his gang for years. Since I was a boy I trafficked his drug and consumed it,” he confessed in a low voice, afraid that someone might hear him. “Cora-san was trying to get me away at all costs and I hated him for that. The Donquixote family was the only thing I had, the only place I could think of as home and he wanted to get me away from it.”

"He was trying to protect you," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to Law.

"Yes, and it wasn't until I was fourteen that I started getting along with him. When he stayed a whole night talking to me and I realized that he really wasn't into the traffic thing. He stayed there to catch Doflamingo and bring him to justice, to Sengoku, but he had to change his plans a bit when he found a detour.”

"Because he had you now." Luffy looked at him and his eyes sparkled. Law felt a little dizzy from the story and the moment, but nodded to confirm what he had said.

"We went to the port and he bought me the hat. The picture I showed you was from that day.” Luffy clicked his tongue in compression. “I started to like him more and spend time together. Doflamingo did not like that, he saw me as his successor in his mafia. It was a very difficult time. From fourteen to eighteen I did a lot of drugs.”

He felt Luffy's body against his legs. He had gotten a little closer and leaned against Law's long calf. He looked at him, thought he was asleep, but Luffy kept his gaze on him, attentive.

"And what happened at eighteen?"

He looked at the dull embers and the almost extinct red glow hypnotized him.

"We went to live alone with Cora-san" He remembered the house where so many years had passed, where he lived his entire career and did study nights with his friends and where now Cora-san had created a garden for which he gave him something whenever he could. “I started going to a rehabilitation center where Cora-san was accompanying me and I was able to detoxify.”

“I lived in Gray Terminal until 12, when Doflamingo was arrested, did you dismantle his network?” He asked intrigued.

“Yes. Cora-san went out of his way to gather evidence during the years that he was part of the Donquixote Family and also the judicial process was for my custody. He had to be even more careful because he wanted to get out of there with me. It was no longer just him. We had to prove that Doflamingo was mistreating me so that Cora-san could get the custody. It was a long and very hard process.”

It was not easy for Law. Having to testify in court while the effects of abstinence were ravaging him, while trying to carry out rehabilitation and a move and struggling with his little emotional stability, was very complicated. He was close to bursting several times and only kept going because Cora-san was there. There were also other people in his life, later his friends and during his rehabilitation he met people who could have stayed in his life. He particularly remembered one.

"We all hated Mingo," Luffy said suddenly, and Law looked at him in amazement. “In the neighborhood we called him that. Everyone had someone they knew hooked on the drug and it was always his fault.”

He looked down and looked at his legs. He clenched his fists, angry.

"Surely I was selling to many of them," he commented, spitting out his words.

"You were a boy, Torao ..."

"But I knew what I was doing, Luffy-ya," he interrupted. “I knew it and wanted to be like him. He was my hero; the one who took me out of the orphanage.”

Luffy rolled his face and placed his hands on Law's lap to support his chin gently. He wasn't used to contact with strangers, but Luffy always made him feel like they were old friends.

"There are many false heroes in the world," he said aloud, but it seemed like a thought in the air. “Especially those that exaggeratedly show themselves as such.”

When he met Luffy's gaze he saw him smile with determination. Although he didn’t like giving him so much power, he had to admit that he admired that security that he possessed. In his teens he had missed it a lot.

"I don't care much about people's pasts, Torao." Luffy's voice cut through the sudden silence that had settled between them and forced him to see him. “All my friends have had difficult times and done things that they are not proud of. I know the Torao that you are now and I trust him. I don't care what Torao you have been, surely you had a reason to be him.”

He pressed his lips together and refused to keep looking at him. He was touched in a foolish way that he could not conceive. It was strange for him to let others enter his head so freely and he didn’t regularly hand free passes. However, Luffy didn’t expect to be invited, he always invaded everything shouting, self-inviting and invading the foreign territories.

"I'm going to bed, I think I can sleep now." He got up from the ground and started walking towards the tent. Luffy stood up and ran after him with a low chuckle.

He wanted to tell him there was no need to follow him, but he knew it didn't make much sense. When he got to the tent and entered, he knew that Luffy was taking off his shoes before entering behind him. Luckily, that tent was spacious for two people and not like the igloos that forced you to share the intimate space, which horrified him. Luffy climbed into his sleeping bag and rested his head on his bag.

"Do you want to see a video?" He asked, taking out his cell phone and lighting the space between them. He frowned at the broken screen.

"How can you see something there?" The glass was broken in several places and looked like a spider's web reaching all over the phone. Luffy laughed.

"I dropped it a couple of times," he said without flinching and opened the video. “Look.”

Luffy leaned in a little closer to Law, dragging his sleeping bag without getting out of it and handing him the phone so he could see it. It was a YouTube video, surely it would spend all its data.

Doflamingo was seen on the broken screen. Law narrowed his eyes and leaned in, without noticing, to see better.

"You've never seen him before?"

The title said: ‘The arrest of the Donquixote Family, the largest drug gang in Gray Terminal.’ He watched as they entered Doflamingo's mansion outside the neighborhood, in a more rural area. Law knew the place because he had lived there when he was still part of the family.

"It was on the news at the time, although I saw it a few days later on television," Luffy mentioned.

In the video, the police shackled Doflamingo and his three firstmen and made them enter the patrol cars.

"I never saw it because we weren't watching television," he told him, his eyes glued to the screen. “We knew that we had won the trial and that he had been sentenced, but we never saw the arrest.”

Luffy smiled and put the phone down to look him in the eye.

"I thought it would make you feel better to see that." His smile, all teeth and gums, grew huge and Law's heart swelled warmly. “You guys won, Torao.”

He smiled. For the first time in many years, he smiled at a picture of Doflamingo.

"Thanks, Luffy-ya," he murmured quietly. He didn't quite know why he was whispering. Maybe he was afraid something would break if he spoke loudly.

Luffy kept him awake for several hours. It's not like he was going to sleep anyway. The soccer boy was absurd, boisterous, and irrational. He told stories that didn't make sense, but he also told him about his career and the conviction he had made all of Law's securities tremble.

Before he met him, he had heard a lot about that unruly boy. _He is a demon. He smiles like a sun. He eats like a monster. He shines all the time. He doesn't stop moving. He is genuine. He is whimsical. He is brave. He doesn't think much. He thinks too much. With the heart. With the feelings. He is very empathetic. He's not very smart. He has emotional intelligence._

He thought he was a storm. But now he was next to him, being illogical, chaotic and crazy. And nothing ever made as much sense as that moment. Law didn´t see a storm that could break everything in its path. He saw the sea, with waves of recklessness but also with a tranquility that made him want to stay floating on it forever. He understood the magnetic effect the boy seemed to have on everyone, why everyone clung to him like planets and gravitated around him.

Maybe it was a storm and the sea at the same time, and knowing it made him dizzy.

.

.

.

When the sun filtered through the small opening that Luffy had left the night before when he closed the tent, he began to open his eyes. He hated when the sun hitted him in the face in the morning. His room was sealed against any ray of light and it was his den of darkness daylight proof.

He covered his face to block the light and got up slowly. He didn't hear much noise outside. The voices of Sanji, Usopp and Franky in the background, speaking quietly. He tracked his cell phone to see the time and the brightness of the screen hit him directly in the face. It was ten past nine.

He turned around because Luffy surely was still sleeping. He saw him sprawled, with one leg inside the sleeping bag and the other one outside. Mouth open and breathing hard. It was a funny picture.

"Luffy-ya." He shook him by the shoulder and the boy barely opened half an eye. “It’s already daytime.”

“What time is it?” He asked sleepily, turning to curl up.

“Nine o'clock.”

"Too early," he murmured almost unintelligibly.

"Don't you want to have breakfast? Sanji-ya is awake too.”

Luffy got up as if powered by a spring and looked towards the exit of the tent.

"We have to have breakfast!" He said, completely convinced and Law laughed a little at his attitude.

The soccer boy came out first and Law followed him. Some children in the camp were awake and eating breakfast. Sanji, Usopp and Franky were having a drink at one of the camping tables.

"Wow, you made him get up," Sanji smiled as he handed them two cups of coffee. Luffy ran to sit at the table and devour the first thing he saw. “What did you bribe him with? Let me guess. Food”

Law nodded and took his cup with a gesture of thanks. He had sat next to Luffy, if he didn't grab something he would eat everything there was.

"We went to bed a little late last night," Luffy said with his mouth full.

"Yes, I could hear your laugh, Luffy," Usopp snapped, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry Sorry.”

“I don’t believe you at all.”

Vivi appeared behind them and greeted them with a smile.

"Good morning, boys." She took Sanji's cup of coffee and sat next to him with a yawn hanging from his mouth. “How did you sleep?”

"So so, my sleeping bag is kind of tough," Usopp commented.

"I slept super," Franky replied with a smile.

Law said nothing, but he had slept well. Strangely. Although it had been a few hours, he had no nightmares, nor had he woken up in dreams. He relaxed talking to Luffy and didn't have time to think too much while trying to sleep.

“Torao, I want bread with butter!” The whimsical boy shouted next to him.

He did it automatically, without thinking. He took a slice of bread and spread it before passing it to him. When he saw Sanji and Usopp frowning at him, Law realized he had acted like a mother. He looked away and drank his coffee.

The children gradually woke up and the entire camp resumed the activities of the previous day. Soccer, walks in the forest and stories of ancestral tales and legends by Vivi, meals and snacks, music and the bonfire full of magical moments.

Law closed his eyes in front of the fire; this time sitting on the grass, feeling its moisture directly. The heat of the fire lit his face and he felt so calm that he didn’t open his eyes again for a long time. Even though he felt an extra weight on his shoulder and knew it was Luffy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used all my camping experience here. During summers I usually go camping with my group of friends, we sleep in tents and we don't eat as well as if Sanji was there. Usopp is very much based on one of my friends, I swear it's real. I would definitely be Vivi singing at the campfire.


	7. The Soccer Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the nice comments in the last chapter. It was the first breakthrough in the relationship between Law and Luffy and finally, Law begins to see things more clearly. ♥

He left work and met his friends at the gate of the North Blue. It was unusual for them to have the same shift in the hospital and they decided to go to lunch at a nearby bar that Penguin knew.

"Do you order food here?" Shachi asked when they entered and chose a table.

"Sometimes when I don't feel like cooking."

The menu was short, but Law was not exquisite. The price was affordable and they had delivery, if Penguin recommended it, maybe he could order some time there. 

"How was the camping trip, Torao?" Shachi said, looking at him with a mocking smile. 

Law didn’t notice his gesture or the nickname, he was concentrating looking for onigiri on the menu.

"It was good, it was relaxing," he replied without looking at him.

When he heard their laughter and felt Penguin laugh too, he raised his head and looked at them with an eyebrow raised. 

“What’s so funny?” He snapped in a murderous tone. Bepo smiled conciliatory.

"Did that boy affect you so much that you don't even notice I called you Torao?" Shachi said with a laugh. 

He reviewed his previous comment and rolled his eyes when he realized it.

“I got used to it, everyone at the Kamabakka is calling me that. It stuck.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie, sometimes Nami, Sanji or Zoro called him so. But the nickname was clearly Luffy's property and he hadn't noticed it on Shachi's lips because he had gotten used to the sound of the word after hearing it from the soccer boy all weekend.

> As they ordered the food, all the cell phones vibrated. It could not be the only group they shared because all the members were there and none of them had written. Law checked his cell phone.
> 
> Group "Soccer"
> 
> [08/10 02:22 pm] Luffy: Hi guys, tomorrow there’s a match
> 
> @Trafalgar Law @Shachi @Penguin @Bepo
> 
> Are you coming?

He had forgotten that Luffy had included them in a group to play soccer. They looked at each other and for a moment said nothing.

“Tomorrow?” Penguin mused as he broke the silence. “I think I can, you guys?”

"Yes, he had already invited us before, remember?"

> [08/10 02:24 pm] Luffy: Convince Torao.

He rolled his eyes when he read that message and his friends looked at him with a smile. He knew something like this would happen. He didn't want to play soccer, but he had done it at camp, and now Luffy thought he had the authority to ask him to.

"Come on, Law," he heard Shachi say. “It will be fun. At least come to watch.”

"Maybe I’ll just ... drop by for a moment," he replied, defeated and grabbed his cell phone to see how his friends confirmed attendance.

> [08/10 02:30 pm] Penguin: Law’s already on board..
> 
> [08/10 02:31 pm] Luffy: Yes! Perfect!
> 
> You play on my team, Torao.

He covered his face because he could sense the kind of teasing he would get from his friends for the treatment Luffy was giving him. Sometimes he didn't know why, or maybe he did and preferred not to see it, he was embarrassed by how he spoke to him.

> [08/10 02:33 pm] Trafalgar Law: I'm just going to watch, Luffy-ya.
> 
> [08/10 02:34 pm] Luffy: That's not fair, you played during the camp

He wanted to die when he read the message and felt completely stunned gazes of his friends. 

“You played soccer?” Shachi and Penguin asked at the same time.

"It was just to replace one of the boys." He tried to defend himself, but he had already lost.

"Oh sure, when 'Luffy-ya' asks for it, you play," Shachi began. “But when we invited you to play, ‘no, I don't like soccer.’”

Penguin laughed a little. It was not a true claim, they just wanted to annoy him. And embarrass him a little more.

He was looking forward to getting over with that lunch.

.

.

.

On the day of the match he was looking at his sneakers and boots for half an hour. He wasn't sure what to wear and felt that the choice would seal his decision to play or not. 

Finally he took the sneakers.

When he got to the soccer field, his friends were already there. They looked at him like he was an alien. He knew why. Sportswear was what he used to wear the least, and it was rare to see him in a pair of jogging pants and a worn-out T-shirt. 

"I never thought this day would come," Penguin murmured with wide eyes.

"Don't push it," he chewed, rolling his eyes.

He turned to look at the other players. Many people from the Kamabakka and Luffy’s friends that he had met at the party for Tama. Usopp, Franky and Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Vivi and Luffy. Chopper was also there, but he had sat behind the field and apparently wasn’t going to play. With them four they were twelve.

“Torao!” Luffy's shout ran through the entire field and it was impossible for him to run away from him. “You made it.”

The soccer boy came jogging and Law looked at him, dressed in his perfect outfit, shorts, and a red soccer team tank top.

"Luffy-ya," he said coldly. Under the surveillance of his friends he felt very exposed. Luffy didn't seem to notice anything strange.

"Good thing you came," the boy replied, looking at them all. “Come on, let's pick the teams.”

The captains they picked were Nami and Luffy. The first team was Zoro, Bepo, Usopp, Shachi and Robin. The second with Law, Sanji, Vivi, Franky and Penguin.

Of course, Luffy had called him first.

That boy wanted to make him die of shame in front of everyone. Or maybe that shitty match he was forced to play would kill him first.

.

.

.

After all, it wasn't so bad. Luffy was an amazing player and complemented himself very well with Sanji who seemed to have a formidable leg ability. However, the newly discovered duo Zoro-Shachi was also a problem for his team and he found out that Usopp was a good defender, with a very sharp eyesight that would not let a single ball pass. Law lost it several times in front of him. Vivi was a very good goalkeeper and endured the attacks of Zoro and Nami who used to shoot to the goal.

Bepo was not very good at kicking, but with Usopp's instructions he defended very well. Franky, on the other hand, went overboard with the force he gave the ball and Robin teased him every time he wanted to pass it to Luffy or Sanji and ended up handing it over to the other team. Robin also defended very well, but stood out scoring an incredible goal dodging Usopp.

And miraculously, Law scored a goal with the help of Luffy, who passed the ball at the right moment and distracted Bepo with his game to give Law free rein. Another moment to die of embarrassment, a list that was getting incredibly large, was when Luffy ran to hug him in celebration of his goal and threw him to the floor.

However, oddly enough, Law couldn't help but smile.

The match ended 6 to 5, and Luffy's team won. No one seemed upset or sad about losing, and Zoro was the first to suggest, with Nami's support, going to a bar to party. They said they hadn't had such a good game in a while.

Luffy looked at him then and said nothing. He just smiled the way he used to, with his teeth and closing his eyes. And Law's heart squeezed when he realized why he liked that smile so much. He looked like Cora-san.

At the bar they sat at a long table and ordered beer. He did too. It wasn't too late and they didn't have to get up early the next day, he could pamper himself a little. Penguin constantly reminded Shachi not to get drunk and Bepo laughed at the dynamics among his friends. Law did too.

"Robin's goal was epic!" Luffy yelled and Robin laughed covering her mouth.

Chopper, who was between Franky and Robin, looked at the woman with his best admiring face. It reminded him of how he looked at him when they talked about medicine.

"Why didn't you play, Chopper?" Penguin asked from across the table.

"I don't like football," he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I prefer to watch.”

He felt it was a joke. He had said the same thing and Luffy practically dragged him to play! He looked at the brat with a murderous gesture and Luffy frowned, half of his mouth full of snacks.

“What?” 

"I don't like football either," he emphasized every word. “And you forced me to play.”

Luffy shrugged and chewed.

"You never said you didn't want to," he replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

He felt like strangling him. Metaphorically, of course. Or not. He wasn't sure, but he had violent emotions. Although when he reviewed his conversations on the subject, it was true that he had never said that he didn’t want to, simply that he didn’t like it. 

Wasn't it the same, though?

"Torao's goal was also very good," Zoro commented, pushing his shoulder amicably. 

All eyes focused on him and he felt it was too much attention.

"I didn't think you could do it, Law," Shachi said with genuine surprise. “We have never seen you play, you are not bad.”

"Better than me," Bepo replied with a kind smile.

"Torao is the best," Luffy said in a low, disguised voice, which quickly went unnoticed between the talk at the noisy table.

Again his eyes met and Luffy looked at him closely. He was sitting at the end of the table and he was near his friends, to one side. From where he was, he had full access to Luffy's face and saw all his gestures and undisguised looks.

However, Luffy looked serious as he examined him. No shame because he caught him looking at him. It intrigued him and made him feel embarrassed being so exposed to those huge eyes. And he felt that the moment was intense and that it had some connotation that escaped him.

But each time it escaped him less and realizing that scared him a little.

When the food arrived, Luffy's attention went to all that he could eat in the shortest amount of time possible and the table turned into chaos. Law wasn’t used to that level of lack of control, but his friends seemed to adapt quite quickly. He looked at them with an arched eyebrow and they laughed.

"Relax Law, let's party," Penguin encouraged him with a calm smile.

Being with them was fun, he had to admit. Dinner was out of control and those around him looked at them from time to time, but he didn't mind at all and laughed when Chopper and Luffy put their sushi sticks to their noses.

With the food arranged and messy, they soon moved around the table as if it were a birthday. He didn't know when he ended up sitting next to Luffy, both of them on the same side of the table.

"Torao," he greeted him as if he hadn't seen him before.

"Luffy-ya," he replied, not sure what to say.

He felt as if something had settled between them at that moment. Something heavy and dense, that felt good and at the same time made him insecure. Luffy's looks, his greeting full of emotion, his excessive attention, all that weighed heavily on him and he didn't know how to react now that he had him in front of him.

“Are you having fun?”

Law smiled.

"I will neither deny nor affirm anything."

They both laughed. There was no need for Law to say anything, Luffy knew perfectly well that he had had a good time, that although he had forced him to play (nobody actually forced him, but Law felt better if he thought he did) he had fun and even scored a goal .

"How are you going home?" Law asked, biting his inner cheek the moment he said it. 

Why did he ask that? With what intentions?

"Sanji will take me," the soccer boy replied, filling his mouth with the remains of food. “Do you want us to give you a lift? You don't live far from my house.”

He shook his head and felt too stupid for saying that.

"I came in my car. I was going to take Bepo home," he said, turning to look at his glass and drinked a little. He had given up the beer because he had to drive.

It was implied between them that Law had asked him to drive him home. Luffy surely knew it and Law, although he didn’t want to recognize it, knew it too.

Dinner ended around eleven at night, when everyone was too drunk or too tired to go on. Zoro had passed out on the table in a competition of who drank more with Nami and she had been the winner, as always. 

Chopper had fallen asleep on Robin's lap and Franky was trying to draw on his face with a marker, but his wife frequently stopped him. Sanji had already approached to try to lift Zoro, but the man fell to the ground between the laughs of Nami and Usopp who were also drunk and tired.

"Luffy!" Sanji called out with a shout from across the table. The soccer boy ran to help him lift Zoro off the ground. He was almost the only one who wasn't drunk besides the drivers.

Law watched them speak as Zoro held onto the table to keep himself from falling again and Nami laughed at him.

"Law." When he turned around, Penguin was looking at him with tired, bright eyes. He had drunk too much. Even though he was who had insisted Shachi not to go overboard with the drinking. “Shachi is going to take me home, he came with his bike.”

“Can you drive?” He asked, looking through Penguin to find his other friend. Shachi looked at him confidently, without the mist in his eyes that characterized all the other drunks.

"I drank very little," he mentioned, smiling. “I can take Penguin if you take Bepo, okay?”

Shachi had been riding his motorcycle for years and was responsible on the street, but he had to be cared for from his alcohol addiction. Penguin was on it. Although today it was the other way around.

"Law," Sanji called out to him. He looked back at him and saw him approach. “Can you drive Luffy home?” He told me that you lived nearby, because I'm going to take Zoro to my house, he can't even move like that, and also Nami and Usopp.

“Yes don’t worry. I’m also taking Bepo, does anyone else need a lift?”

"I think not, Franky and Robin are taking Chopper. Shachi and Penguin are taken care of?"

“Yes, Shachi came on a motorcycle and he’ll take Penguin.”

At the exit of the bar, Luffy approached with his jacket on his shoulders, above his sportswear. The night was cool and the heat of running on the field had faded.

"Are you coming with me then?" Law asked with a smile. Luffy nodded happily.

After greeting each other, Law opened the doors of his car and let Bepo in. Luffy leaned back in the back seat.

"I put the addresses on Google Maps, put yours Luffy." Bepo handed him his phone and the boy typed before returning it. “Look, you have to take me first, then Luffy, and you go straight to your house.”

Bepo lived in Shallow, another city close to Flavence but not Goa, Luffy's place. From the bar, Shallow was first, then he had to cross Flavence to get to Goa and back. It wasn't much, Luffy's house was relatively close to the border with Flavence.

"Isn't an inconvenience for you?" Luffy asked, approaching the passenger seat to look at Bepo's cell phone.

"No, it's close enough so I'm not going off track," he replied, turning a corner, his eyes fixed on the street.

"Today's game was incredible!" Luffy took the opportunity to celebrate and relaxed again in the seat. 

Bepo seemed enthusiastic and also chatted with him.

"You played well, Bepo," he encouraged him with a smile. “We play twice a week with the Kamabakka boys and they always make me laugh a lot. We don't play by the normal rules.”

"And how do you do it?" Bepo asked, fully engaged in the conversation, his body turned back to see Luffy.

"We made them up and added new ones," he said with his mischievous laugh. “For example, if someone who doesn’t play as well or who doesn’t have much confidence scores the goal, it is worth double. We know that because there are boys and girls who came to try, because they didn’t like soccer, or their parents wrote them down to do some activity.”

Bepo listened to Luffy speak amazed and even admired. Law glanced at him and smiled. His friend was easy to impress and he always believed that everyone was great, especially him, whom he greatly admired. He had a great affection for Bepo, he was very calm, reliable and didn’t despair in moments of tension. Everything Law needed in a friend. It was the anchor that gave the group peace of mind, with Shachi and Penguin being more rowdy.

"That's great, I'd like to see you guys someday!" He exclaimed excitedly and Luffy's eyes jumped with excitement.

"When we have a match, I’ll invite you to come see them. My boys and girls are the best.”

Law smiled without taking his eyes off the wheel. Luffy's love for his team was endearing. He felt identified in that aspect, because it was what he felt when he went to the Kamabakka. And even though he had to face many difficult situations from the people who lived in Gray Terminal, it always made him feel good to know that the Kamabakka was a refuge for many.

"Thanks for bringing me, Law," Bepo greeted him, hugging him briefly.

Luffy gave him a high five and also got down to hug him tightly. When Bepo entered his house, Luffy climbed into the front seat.

"Your friends are great, Torao," the boy said, looking out the car window at Bepo's closed door.

Law started heading to Luffy's house.

"Bepo is the calmest of all," Law mentioned smiling. He liked to talk about them.

"Penguin and Shachi are so much fun too! I like them, how did you meet them?”

"At university," he replied without looking at him, attentive to his path. “We are all North Blue doctors.”

Luffy's eyes snapped out of their sockets and he stared at him in amazement. As if he had told him they were astronauts.

"That's great, they are very smart!"

He rolled his eyes but bit his lips holding back a smile.

"We studied together and they used to come home before exams. We spent nights studying and Cora-san made coffee for everyone.”

“That’s so kind of him.”

"Cora-san loves them very much," he told him, remembering all those nights when the man participated in the dinners and stayed in his room awake while they studied, as if giving them a silent accompaniment. “He thought it was good for me to have some friends.”

Luffy looked at him intrigued, as if piecing together all the things he knew about Law to complete his story.

"Didn't you have friends before?"

Law clicked his tongue and thought. He couldn’t think of what to call the Donquixote Family, but they were not friends.

"When I was under the guardianship of Doflamingo, I shared with the other children in his family, but I can't say they were my friends," he commented, remembering those moments from his childhood before Cora-san.

“And before that?” Luffy asked with some doubt. He was surprised to hear him hesitantly. “When you lived with your parents …”

That time was so far away that it began to seem alien. Law was only ten years old when he lost them all. He had the feeling of a warm, loving first childhood, but what came later was so tinged with hopelessness that he sometimes found it difficult to access those happy memories. 

"Yes, I had my classmates at school, I got along well with them," he mused.

Luffy was silent for a few moments, but then he asked that question that seemed to be on his mind for a long time. 

"And what happened to your parents?" 

The question floated in the air because Law didn’t answer. He didn't quite know how. That past seemed prehistoric and although it hurt sometimes, it felt like it had happened in another time; in another world.

"We lived in a city that had a very expensive mineral," he told him, although that was not the total answer that Luffy expected, "it was extracted a lot in the mines of the town where we lived and since it was so expensive nobody worried about the health of the workers. Years later it was known, or perhaps it was already known and the companies that exploited it didn’t want to say it, that it was carcinogenic”.

Luffy listened intently and Law squeezed the wheel in his hands. The past was getting closer and closer when he remembered those old days.

"My parents got sick and Lami, my little sister ... she did too. It was a mystery why I didn't get sick. We were equally exposed, the mines were close to home. But somehow, I didn’t suffer from the disease and then I entered the adoption system where I later found Doflamingo, spent time with him and asked him to adopt me.”

The silence was still between them and Law was not sure what Luffy thought, if it had been so shocking to hear his story or what had happened to him, because he didn’t usually see the boy so silent.

Law parked at Luffy's door and looked at him. 

"We're here." He had the need to speak, because the boy was not moving. “Did my past shock you?” He asked with his serious laugh.

Luffy shook his head.

"I don't care about my friends' pasts, I already told you, Torao. I just thought you are great for putting so much effort in the Kamabakka to make everyone feel better, but don't forget about yourself. There are many here who want to see you well.”

He opened his mouth, unsure of what he could answer to that. He didn't understand what it had to do with anything, but Luffy's smile was too big, too bright and it did _things to him._

Luffy looked at him and Law didn't know what to do. He wanted to say something, _do something._ But he felt paralyzed and a panic he didn't know erupted in his chest, overwhelming him. Luffy was there, it seemed as if he expected _something_ he didn't know. Or maybe he did know and that was why he was panicking.

Luffy smiled and came closer. He hugged him with that enormous force for his small body and walked away.

"Thanks for bringing me, Torao," he said by way of greeting and got out of the car.

He saw him wave his hand and enter his house.

And he stayed in the car, stunned and unable to start the engine. Because he had done _nothing_ and Luffy decided to let go of that moment.


	8. The Broken Nose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to Daena for her insistence on adding certain things ♥ Thank you all for being there.  
> You can following me on [tumbrl](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/anniedeodair)♥

He had returned from a long and heavy day at the North Blue. The work was intensified by the understaffing, many of the staff were on leave. Shachi, Penguin and Bepo were there as well, and the four ended up exhausted, drinking more than three coffees to stay active.

When he got to his apartment, he took off his clothes and leaned back in the chair, covering himself with a blanket. He'd barely wanted to put on a pair of sleeping pants while having tea and watching Grey's Anatomy.

At that time it would have been nice to have a cat or an animal with him. He imagined it on his feet, giving his body heat in that cold apartment. He checked his cell phone, reading messages from his friends who had also ended up too tired and were already at home. He laughed at the photo of Bepo lying face down on his bed.

A message from Luffy came in and the notification covered Bepo's photo.

> [08/20 11:24 pm] Luffy: Torao!
> 
> This may sound strange but, are you in your house?
> 
> I can't go back to my house now and I'm close to Flavence,
> 
> could I come by?

He frowned as he looked at the text and sat up, ruffling his hair. He regretted wanting a pet.

Luffy was enough trouble already.

> [08/20 11:30 pm] Trafalgar Law: Where exactly are you?
> 
> 📍 Location
> 
> Can you get here on your own?
> 
> [08/20 11:32 pm] Luffy: The gps is guiding me, I'm a few blocks away
> 
> Get down and open the door for me

He rolled his eyes and got up. He reached for a T-shirt and put it on as he left his apartment. At the door he looked both ways and spotted a boy running down the sidewalk. When he was a few meters away, he could see his face and identify him.

"I'm finally here," he gasped agitated, holding onto his knees.

Law frowned. He stepped forward and took Luffy's face in his hands.

“What…?” Luffy looked surprised, but stood still when Law inspected him.

"You have a broken nose," he declared, releasing him. “And blood on your face, what happened to you?”

Luffy touched his cheeks and looked at his fingers, barely stained with dried blood.

"I hadn't noticed," he muttered in surprise.

Law grabbed him by the hood of the red hoodie Luffy was wearing and dragged him into the building.

"I'm going to have to fix it," he muttered in the elevator. It wouldn't be nice and he didn't have anesthesia at home.

When they entered his apartment, he made him sit on one of the stools in the small bar of his kitchen. He looked in the bathroom for his medicine cabinet, full of various things that exceeded first aid. Still, he didn’t have anesthesia syringes because he was not an anesthetist and was not crazy enough to try it.

He took out an anesthetic gel and applied it to his nose with two fingers. It was over-the-counter and clearly wouldn't be enough, but he didn't have anything better. Luffy stood patiently and when he finished, he grabbed him by the shoulders and made him look at him.

"It will hurt," he spat with the most intense gaze he could. "Breathe and..."

"Do it, Torao. Don't worry,” Luffy replied, clutching his hands to the island counter.

Law put a speculum in his nose to get a better look at it and tilted his face back. He came closer and saw the insides of his nose. He already knew what he had to do. He took the speculum from it and straightened his head. He gripped his hand on his partition and the other on his shoulder to keep him from moving.

"Stay still," he whispered with concentration.

He counted to three and yanked.

Crack!

Luffy shuddered and clasped his hands on the bar. Law had also gripped his shoulder tightly and released him. Luffy's eyes had instinctively reacted and one was crying. He took a gauze from his medicine cabinet to put it on his nose along with a rod to keep it straight.

"Don't take it off, did you hear?"

Luffy nodded as he finished sticking it to him. Then he parted and looked at his work. It was good. It’ll do if the wound was not serious as he believed.

He leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms.

"Now start talking," he snapped as an order and Luffy frowned.

"Don't speak like Sabo," he murmured quietly in a tantrum. “It was nothing, I hit a couple of guys and got punched too. Nothing special.”

"Does this happen to you very often?" He asked in dismay. Luffy shrugged his shoulders.

Maybe he should redefine who Monkey D. Luffy was for him.

"Why did you fight and why can't you go home?"

"I can't go back and have Sabo see me like this, he would make a scandal!" He exclaimed with great emphasis. Law probably would have too if he were his older brother. “So I came here in the first place. You're a doctor and you could see if I had something.”

"That explains part of it, but not why it all happened."

Luffy sighed exhausted and Law decided to give him some space. He turned around and put water to heat to make him a coffee.

"I also wanted to come here because of that," he replied quietly. He seemed to have a hard time saying what he wanted. “Today we trained with the boys in the Kamabakka and when we were leaving a boy showed up. His name was Leo, he said he had spoken to you a few months ago.”

Law turned around with his eyes open. He remembered the boy in his office in the Kamabakka office. Blond hair and nervous eyes.

“What happened?” He asked with some anxiety. “Why didn't he come earlier?”

"He said he needs help," Luffy went on without listening. “That there are people who are pressuring him to sell drugs.”

He saw him bite his lip and Law believed Luffy was having trouble telling him because of the similarities with his past.

"He's under Bellamy's orders," he said at the end. He looked seriously at Law. “One of Doflamingo’s lackeys who was released when he was imprisoned.”

He stood still and hardly breathed. Doflamingo. Bellamy. He remembered the big, blond, stupid, ruthless man. And closed his eyes reviewing the images of his childhood.

"And what happened to you?"

Luffy averted his gaze and tried to play the fool.

"We stayed with him until he calmed down and Sanji took him home," he told him, averting his gaze. “When we got out some of Bellamy’s thugs had come looking for him and I kicked their ass.”

"And they broke your nose," Law snapped disapprovingly. Luffy rolled his eyes.

"The important thing is that Leo is safe."

"But we don't know what other children may be trapped like him. Bellamy is not like Doflamingo, he is an idiot and he is not intelligent at all. He can be dangerous to them in other ways.”

Luffy looked at him with an intensity that almost turned him over. It seemed as if he wanted to speak to him with the determination of his gaze.

"I know," he stated. “And that's why we're going to kick Bellamy's ass and everyone who follows him.”

"Wait, you can't do that just like that. You can’t solve things by punching.”

“Why not?” He asked, shrugging his shoulders. “It's easier this way.”

"Because you can go to jail, you idiot." He put a hand to his forehead and rested exasperated. “Let me think what we’ll do.”

He paused for a moment when he remembered the water and pulled it out of the fire making coffee. He had drunk too many that day, he didn't want to keep adding layers of insomnia. He made a sandwich out of a loaf Bepo had left the day before at his house when he had lunch with him, and handed it to Luffy. He didn't have bread because he hated it.

“Thanks!” Luffy exclaimed with overflowing emotion. “I was starving.”

That could be an exaggeration, surely he had eaten at the Kamabakka with Sanji.

Sanji!

"Is Sanji alone in his house?" He asked in alarm. “If Bellamy’s people are after the child, it’s not wise for them to be left alone.”

Luffy shook his head and swallowed the big bite he hadn't finished chewing.

"No, Zoro stayed with him just in case. They said they were going to call me if anything happened and they sent me here.”

Was there no one who could cure him at the Kamabakka? The office hours were limited because there were only three taking care of the health area throughout the week, but it was dangerous that there was no doctor during the physical activities workshops such as soccer or kendo.

"Torao, I can't go home like this," Luffy added, pointing to his nose. “Can I stay?”

He knew it. From the moment he saw Luffy's wound, he knew that if he didn't want Sabo to see him, at least that day, he would have to stay there.

"That won't heal tomorrow," he warned him. “You can't take it off for a few days.”

Luffy touched the bandage and looked up.

"Okay, I'll find something to tell him… **”**

When he finished eating, Luffy moved, without permission or questions, to the chair where Law had previously been with his cup of coffee. The television was still on and he lay down with the blanket over him.

He sighed as he watched the boy getting comfy as if it were his house and threw a pillow at his face that he had taken from his room.

"I can give you some clothes if you want," he suggested, thinking that he would not like Luffy to walk around his house with the clothes he wore on the street all day, and he was beaten in. “Your hoodie has a little blood on.”

Luffy looked at him as if he hadn't noticed and took it out. Beneath it he had a short-sleeved T-shirt that looked more like pajamas.

"Just a pair of pants, I think it will be fine like this."

Law searched his drawers for some jogging pants or shorts that weren’t too big, but he only found old sports pants that he wore when he was younger. Luffy had no problems with it and although it looked a little bigger, it wasn’t too long.

He made himself some tea and sat on the floor, on his carpet, with one arm on the chair where Luffy had his feet. The coffee table in front of him.

"You couldn't go with Ace, either?" He asked, taking his steaming mug, his gaze fixed on the boy's expressions.

Luffy wrote on his cell phone and put it on his chest to see Law.

"Ace is worse than Sabo," he laughed. “He goes mad at anything I do. When I was younger and got into fights after school, I always had to bear him giving me sermons while he healed my wounds.”

Law laughed, because he could imagine Ace being overprotective with his younger brother.

"What about Sabo?"

Luffy turned on his side to get a better look at him.

"Sabo is calmer," he told him with a smile. “He was always trying to convince Ace to leave me alone, but they are both very protective.”

There was a question he had about his brothers a while back, from the moment he took Luffy home for the first time and told him his story.

"Why did Ace leave your house?" He asked cautiously, trying to see if it was difficult for Luffy.

And apparently it was a bit, because he didn’t respond quickly and thought for a few seconds. For a short bit, but to him it looked like an eternity.

"To be honest… I'm not sure," he said at last, looking back at Law, but his eyes were on the past, revisiting his story over and over again. “The only thing I remember is that he left after a fight with Sabo and that things between them were very bad for quite some time.”

It was hard for him to imagine Sabo and Ace fighting so hard to make one of them leave the house. Those three brothers seemed to love each other more than anyone else in the world and take care of their relationship as the only treasure they cared about. Also, he remembered Sabo carrying Ace after Tama and his family's party. He could see that they worried and cared about each other.

"Everything seems to be better now, doesn't it? The other day he stayed the night at your house…”

Luffy silently meditated and took his cell phone when it vibrated to see a message. He answered it with one hand.

"I don't know what happened between them," he commented, looking at the cell phone. “Sabo just wrote to ask me where I was. I said I will stay here tonight.”

“Here?” He asked, alarmed. “Won't it seem weird to him?”

“Why?” Luffy looked at him puzzled and Law covered his face.

"You never came to my house before, Luffy-ya, and suddenly you stay the night. He’s not that silly to not realize that something weird is going on.”.

Luffy checked his phone and showed him Sabo's message.

> [08/21 01:15 am] Sabo: Torao?
> 
> Ah yes, Law.
> 
> Did something happen to you? Are you okay?

"I told you," he snapped in exasperation.

“I’ll tell him that I came to plan something of the Kamabakka with some of the guys and that it got late.”

"And will he believe you?" Law sounded skeptical.

Luffy shrugged as if he didn't care and put the cell phone aside on the couch.

"So…" he murmured, trying to remember what they had been talking about. “Oh yeah. Ace and Sabo. I don't know what happened. Before Ace moved out they weren’t really getting along. They fought every day and argued over nonsense. Whenever one or the other was late, they asked where they had been. I thought they were fighting as if they were a married couple, although I don't know what it's like because I never lived with one, but that's what Nami had said.

He frowned at him, trying to imagine Sabo and Ace complaining about the other as if they were Luffy's parents and not two brothers who didn't have to argue about things like that.

"One day Ace packed his suitcase and yelled at him that he was going to live with Shirohige so Sabo could do whatever he wanted. I was there and... I didn't like it. I never liked watching them fight, but that day seemed more serious. As if Ace was seriously going away forever.”

He could distinguish that there spoke that little Luffy who saw his older brothers fight, perhaps the only functional family model he had ever had.

"In the end he left and has lived at Shirohige's for years, although now they get along just fine. They spend time together and he stays home from time to time, but he doesn't seem to want to come back.”

Law quietly drank his tea and set it on the coffee table in front of him while he thought about it.

"Do you remember the reasons they were fighting?" He asked, leaning a little more on the chair.

Luffy was silent trying to think. His eyes fixed on the wall behind Law.

"I only remember that time he left. Ace yelled at him that if Sabo was so annoyed with living with him so much, he would get out and leave the house so that he... could do whatever he wanted with... whoever he wanted.”

He didn’t want to diagnose what was happening to people as if it were a medical procedure, but he had an idea of what could happen between them, although he was not sure that Luffy realized it. The boy seemed clueless and especially on those topics.

"What do you think has happened to them?" Luffy took him out of his thoughts and when he looked at him, he knew he couldn't avoid the subject.

He cleared his throat, feeling a little uneasy.

"I have an idea, but it might not be that. People fight over many causes and more if they live together.”

"Just say it, Torao."

Law growled and looked him in the eye.

"I have a feeling they were perhaps... attracted to each other and unable to handle it."

Luffy frowned, apparently puzzled.

"Attracted? I don’t understand.”

Law snorted. He sat down better on the floor and looked at him. He didn't want to be the one to talk to the boy about these issues, but he had asked his opinion and he didn't want to lie to him either.

“I think Sabo and Ace liked each other and couldn't solve their problems because, at the same time, they were also brothers and they had you. They aren’t two strangers, instead they had a previous bond that perhaps complicated what they felt.”

Why did he have to explain that if all his previous semi relationships ended in failure? And even if he said it in plural, he had only had one relationship that he could more or less call true. He was not an expert in sentimental ties, rather he had failed in almost all of them.

"Like as in… like?" Luffy asked and his eyes widened as if he had discovered a secret. “Oh…”

He was silent and Law thought that maybe it wasn't a good decision to put that idea in his head. What if he disliked it? Now he would have to deal with putting him against his brothers.

“Does it bother you?”

When he looked back at him, Luffy softened. He sighed deeply and started to laugh. Law frowned.

"Sorry," he murmured, clutching his stomach. “I hadn't thought about it, it's just... it never occurred to me that that could happen. But no, it doesn't bother me. They are free to do what they want and will remain my brothers no matter if they like each other in a different way.”

He smiled warmly when he heard him, because how did it occur to him that this sunbeam boy was going to hate his brothers simply for loving each other?

"Maybe they improved their relationship and that's why they're getting along now," Law theorized aloud.

"Surely they need me to tell them that it's okay, that it doesn't bother me!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"I don't think they need it, but it’ll surely help," he completed, smiling.

He decided to get up and took his mug to the kitchen to wash it.

"I'll go to sleep, Luffy-ya, it's too late." He leaned against the door frame and looked at the boy tucked in his sofa. “Tomorrow we will talk about what we are going to do with Bellamy, okay? I have to go to the hospital at noon, do you have something to do?”

Luffy denied and reached out to put his cell phone down on the coffee table, next to the container full of coins that Law collected.

"I have classes in the afternoon, so I can go out with you when you leave."

"Okay," Law rubbed his eyes. He was very tired. He looked at Luffy one last time and smiled. “Have a nice rest.”

"Good night, Torao!"

When he lay back on his bed and looked at the ceiling, he couldn't believe what was happening. That boy in his living room, sleeping on his sofa. The one that two months ago was a stranger and now he had slipped into the cracks of his life.

.

.

.

When he got up, the sun had already risen. The alarm on his cell phone woke him up, although he couldn't stay asleep for many hours. He got up from his bed and went out for coffee. He saw Luffy sleeping on the sofa, all uncomfortable, almost falling and with the blanket covering half of his body. He found it funny.

While he was boiling water in the kitchen and looking for something to accompany his breakfast, he read his messages on his cell phone. He had some of his friends and the hospital, but the one that mattered most was Sanji's.

> [08/21 07:45 am] Sanji Kamabakka: Hello Law, I hope you are well.
> 
> Luffy must have already told you something about what happened yesterday.
> 
> We are with Leo and Zoro in my house.
> 
> Whenever you can we can arrange to meet to see what we do.

He looked at Luffy on the couch, sleeping as if the world was always waiting for him. He had to solve that matter in his own way, because if he left it to Luffy he would surely make a big problem that would put everyone in danger.

> [08/21 08:56 am] Trafalgar Law: Good morning Sanji, I just read your message.
> 
> Luffy is still here and he told me everything.
> 
> Today at night we can meet. You can come to my house.
> 
> [08/21 09:01 am] Sanji Kamabakka: I get off work late and Zoro is going to stay with Leo at my house in the meantime, could you guys come?
> 
> [08/21 09:05 am] Trafalgar Law: All right.

The sound of the water brought him back to reality and he made two coffees while searching for something the boy on the sofa could devour. He was fine eating the onigiri that Bepo had left him.

"Luffy-ya," he called, sitting down on the couch where Luffy’s feet should be, which were actually almost on the floor. “Wake up.”

He pushed Luffy's legs with his because he had both hands busy with the mugs. The food plate was on the coffee table.

“What time is it?” Luffy muttered without waking up yet.

“Nine o'clock.”

"Too early." He covered his head with the blanket and ignored him.

"It's not early, get up!" The boy didn't seem to want to give in, so he put the cups down on the table and put an onigiri on his face to see if the food would wake him up.

“There’s food?” He asked coming out of his shelter and Law rolled his eyes.

"Get up, there's coffee."

Luffy sat up slowly, taking the onigiri and swallowing it like a starving dog. He grimaced as he chewed and touched his nose.

“Does It hurt?” He asked, looking at the patch.

“A bit.”

Law passed him a cup of coffee and the boy raised his legs to cross them on the couch as a yawn crossed his face. He took a sip watching his movements and holding the patch to his nose.

"Why did we wake up so early? Weren't we leaving at noon?"

"Sanji wrote me a while ago," he said, showing him his cell phone, and Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. “We decided that we are going to meet at his house tonight to see what we do with the boy's situation.”

Luffy brought the mug to his mouth and thought carefully, though he wasn't sure how much he could do it.

“I leave college at nine o'clock at night, I can go later.”

"Are you sure you're going to go like this?" Luffy's wound was not serious and he was sure it would heal in a few days, but it was logical that it hurt at that moment.

"It's either that or go home," the boy replied, finishing another onigiri. “I don't want Sabo to see me like this.”

He sighed deeply and held his head in one hand.

"Your university was Sabo's, wasn't it?" Law asked to be sure.

“Yes, the UGL.”

Law had studied medicine at UGL with Penguin, Shachi and Bepo. There he had met Robin and Sabo at conferences and where Chopper was currently studying as well. The University of the Grand Line was the most important and prestigious in the area, as well as being free and public.

"The North Blue is not far from there. I leave a little before nine if there is no emergency. I’ll go with the car, pick you up and we’ll go to Sanji's.”

He didn't even know why he was offering that, but it seemed most practical. It also made it easier for Luffy to avoid his brother and protect the little secret of the broken nose.

"Oh that's great Torao," Luffy exclaimed cheerfully. “Sanji's house is very nice.”

All he knew about the Kamabakka cook was that he lived alone since years ago in an apartment in the city's upmarket area. His family was wealthy and important, but he had cut ties with them and had earned that place by working in many restaurants until he came to the Baratie as head chef and right-hand man for its director, Zeff.

Sometimes he would hang out in the Kamabakka's dining room over coffee with Sanji and Nami and they'd talk about the cook's story. He liked him, he was nice and calm; the kind of person he felt most comfortable with because it didn't force him to get too involved.

Quite the contrary to the boy who was sitting on his sofa, devouring his food and drinking the fresh coffee he had prepared for himself.

He was in big trouble.

"The only thing I'm going to make clear to you is that we're not going to go to see Bellamy and hit him," Law snapped, looking at Luffy firmly. “We are not thugs like them. Cora-san spent a long time of his life gathering evidence to bring these men to justice.”

Luffy rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"We won't be in this for years, Torao! This way we can solve it easier.”

"Stop it, Luffy-ya, I've dealt with these people since I was a boy, I know the best way to catch them."

The soccer boy snorted and covered his face as if he didn't want to hear anything from him anymore.

"I have a plan, but we'll discuss it when we're at Sanji's."

He realized that Luffy wanted to refute it, but his cell phone vibrated and he preferred to look at it.

"Sabo again?" Law asked, getting up. He took the two mups and the empty plate of food to wash them.

"No, my dad.”

He turned around puzzled before entering the kitchen. Luffy's father? He had never heard of such a thing nor knew that the boy had one. Or a mother.

"I didn't know you had parents."

"I guess we all have," Luffy replied. He bit her finger anxiously as he rested his arms on his legs pressed to his chest.

“Something bad?”

He saw him shake his head with his eyes on the screen.

"He deposited money for me, like every month."

It was getting weirder, but he was not the one to judge an unconventional family.

“Does he not live here?”

Luffy looked up from the phone and looked at him.

"I'm not sure, I don't know where he lives."

He opened his eyes in surprise. He didn't know much about Luffy's past and life, he hardly knew about his time at Gray Terminal, his brothers and nothing else. Instead, Luffy knew almost all of his traumatic history. It wasn’t fair.

He also wanted to know him a little more.

“How is that?” He asked when he returned from the kitchen and sat back down on the couch at the other end.

“He is the leader of a movement… something like… I don't remember the name, but Sabo is also part, although he doesn't know him in person, he only knows who he is.”

“The Socialist Movement for Liberation?” Law asked, raising an eyebrow. He remembered that Sabo had mentioned it to him in one of his talks at the university. The sociologist, in addition to being a professor, was also a member of that socialist political organization.

“That one, yes! According to grandpa Dragon is an important leader of the movement. I don’t have many memories of him, I saw some old photos that we have at home and I know that I lived with him until five, when he left and left me in charge of grandpa Garp who had adopted Ace and Sabo and left us with Dadan, the woman who raised us all at Gray Terminal for four years.”

There was something he never quite understood about Luffy's life and it was linked to his past at Gray Terminal.

"Garp was an important military man, why did he leave you there knowing how difficult life is at Gray Terminal?"

"Grandpa knew Dadan years ago. She had a criminal gang that hacked systems and when they caught her they offered her a deal and to work for the government. Dadan accepted but continued to live in Gray Terminal because it is her neighborhood” he told him as if it were the most normal thing in the world and didn’t seem like something out of an action movie by Bruce Willis or Criminal Minds. “He was giving her money to take care of the three of us.”

"And when did you first hear about Dragon?"

"I'm not sure," he mused a finger on his chin, thinking. “I think a year before we left Gray Terminal. I got a credit card at Dadan's where I received a transfer in the name of Dragon every month. I accepted it because we needed it. Dadan used Garp's money to support us, but we could spend Dragon's money for what the three of us wanted.”

"Your life seems like an American movie," Law said in amazement. “Those that are shown on cable on Sunday nights.”

Luffy laughed out loud.

"And why aren't you living with Garp now if you'd moved in with him when he took you from Gray Terminal?"

"I don't remember," Luffy replied, leaning back against the couch with a frown, tired of thinking. “He moves all the time because they transfer him to different cities at work. I think he lives in Sabaody now.”

He didn’t imagine not knowing where Corazón was, although he didn’t know about Sengoku, but it seemed strange to him that there is so much disconnection between these men with their genetic link. Luffy seemed fine with that, after all, what he considered indispensable were his brothers and they would be for him in any circumstance.

"I'm going to change and in a little while we will order something to eat, Are you ok with that?"

Luffy nodded excitedly and began to search for some delivery services on the cell phone.

He left him there while he looked for clothes to take off his pajamas. He also took a hoodie for him.

"Here," he called, throwing the garment at him. “Your hoodie is dirty with blood, use that one and then return it to me.”

Luffy looked at him and smiled.

"It's cute." He put it over his shirt and held it out. “It’s a little long for me.”

“Even though I wore it when I was a teenager. Cora-san gave it to me.”

He remembered the day Cora-san took him to a clothing store to buy almost a whole dressing room again. He had left most of his clothes at Doflamingo’s house. Starting again meant many things to Law.

The yellow hoodie was long but not large. Luffy had a similar body structure. Law took off the shirt he had worn to sleep and started putting on the shirt he wore under the doctor's gown.

"Wow, wow, Torao! That’s a lot of tattoos!" Luffy yelled, absolutely shocked.

He turned to look at him, his arms in the air and his shirt between them, before putting it on fully.

Luffy had seen the tattoos on his hand when they met on the day of the Tama house fire when he cured him in the Kamabakka's office. It seemed surprising to him that he didn't know about the ones on his chest and back, because all the people he considered close knew all his tattoos and the stories of each one.

Was Luffy a close person?

He shook his head and lowered his shirt.

"I got them as a teenager," he told him, showing him the tattoo of his chest through the opening of his shirt. The huge heart took up almost all that part of skin.

Luffy's eyes seemed about to pop out. He could tell he was going from the heart in his chest to the smaller hearts in his arms.

"So many hearts," he said in amazement.

"It was when I just moved in with Cora-san." He quickly pulled on his shirt and sat next to Luffy. “You don't have tattoos?”

"No, just a big scar."

Law raised his eyebrow in confusion and Luffy raised the hoodie to show him the scar on his chest. It looked like a major operation and a very painful wound.

“I got it a few years ago, in a car accident with Ace, he was very serious and was hospitalized for a few months until he recovered. You don't know how worried Sabo was!”

Law opened his mouth about to say something but couldn't. He was amazed at that boy's life.

"I really think if I turn on Space I'm going to see your life in a movie."

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Dealer, do I have to watch Netflix and watch _El Patrón del mal_ to see yours?"

A few seconds of silence settled between them before Law let out a laugh with his hand on his stomach.

"You are an idiot, Luffy-ya."

“You started! The boy shouted, pouting as if he were a whimsical child. "I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out in a while _The Joker, the hidden story of Doflamingo Donquixote,_ Who would you like to play you, Torao?”

"What about you when they make your movie about the three children of the military man who left them living in the house of a hacker in an emergency neighborhood?"

Luffy sat down crossing his legs and seemed to think seriously.

"I think I'd like Cavendish to play me, he's a great actor!"

Law was not entirely aware of the figures of the cinema and show business, he never turned on the television on those channels and when he had it turned on in the news he didn’t pay much attention to it. However, he did remember the actor from some pretty bad movies.

"He's blond and light-eyed, Luffy-ya! He doesn’t look like you at all,” he said, laughing. The absurd conversation had him laughing a lot.

"Okay, okay. So what do you think of Gold Roger?” He asked with bright eyes. Law laughed again.

"Neither, that man is huge and has a mustache. I don't see you very similar.”

"Oh, but his movies are amazing, did you see the one about pirates? Ace hates them.”

"I don't really like them either, I usually watch other kinds of movies."

“Which kind?” He asked, intrigued.

"Now I don't remember specifically, but I like the ones about crimes, mysteries and historical ones." He took his cell phone to ask for food while they talked. “I liked one of the actor Silvers Rayleigh. I always saw it with Cora-san.”

"Oh, I know, the Dark King, right? Sabo and I loved it,”he exclaimed, almost jumping from the chair. “We watched it every Sunday when it was shown on television.”

"Yes, I liked that one very much. Also that Rio Poneglyph one, I think he has a cameo there.”

Luffy was shaking his head vigorously and Law laughed when he saw him acting like a little puppy.

"Do you want to eat hamburgers?" He asked, looking at the menu. “We can order at that bar where we went the other day after the game.”

“Yes, Makino's Bar. It has very delicious food! Although not as much as Sanji's.”

He ordered two burgers, Luffy's was extra everything, with fries and soda.

"I don't usually eat like this, but I don't have anything at home, nor do I feel like cooking, so for once I can do it. But you will eat the bread, I don't want it.”

"Come on Torao, after all you've been through, are you going to worry about a hamburger?"

Luffy's mouth seemed about to drool and Law rolled his eyes denying, but a smile seeped into his lips.

"Don't be too smart," he warned him in his murderous tone that he used to use on Shachi, Penguin and Bepo, but Luffy didn’t seem scared at all.

Suddenly he wanted to smoke. The mention of his old vices brought him this yearning, which he tried to bury whenever it appeared or replace it with anything else. He felt a little anxious about what Luffy did to him when they were like this, so relaxed side by side, and his urge to smoke appeared as if he needed to calm down.

He closed his eyes and tried to forget where he had put the cigarettes in case of emergency or stress overflow. He counted to five and when he opened them he saw Luffy playing a game on his cell phone, lying on the couch without a care and with the blanket on either side.

The anxiety subsided a little and he had to smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of SaboAce because it’s Daena's otp. In exchange for this she gave me a bit of Lawlu in her fanfic Dysphoria (ups, spoiler) well, as much as she could with a baby Luffy.


	9. The Heroe's Battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Use of inappropriate language (?) And references to dubious-con.  
> Thank you Nicky for your comments that influenced the plot of this chapter. I love you ♥

Sanji's apartment was large and clean. It smelled of fresh food in the kitchen and flowery fragrance in the living room. It was in the downtown area, near Luffy’s University and it was a big building. It was nice, bright, and aseptic, but Law preferred his dark and cold apartment with its three small rooms and its white background.

"Here, it's ramen." Sanji passed him a bowl that gave off a tantalizing scent. He wrapped his hands around it enjoying it’s warmth.

Sanji's kitchen was huge, it seemed like the central place of the house, packed with perfectly arranged elements and with a big island in the middle where five people easily could eat. Law had sat on a stool and was tasting the ramen with delight, grateful for that dinner after the long day he had had since he woke up with Luffy at home until he picked him up from the university after leaving the hospital.

Zoro, Luffy and Leo, the boy who had sparked that meeting, were also sitting around the island eating. Sanji served the food and when he finished, he leaned against the kitchen counter with his own bowl in hand.

"This is delicious, Sanji!" Luffy praised him with a huge smile.

Leo looked embarrassed and looked at the bowl in front of him without daring to touch it.

"You can eat," Sanji said, looking at him. “Don't worry, you've been here all day.”

The boy averted his eyes and looked at him.

"But you were already very kind to me and... I don't want to abuse your kindness."

Law looked at him with a frown. It reminded him of when Corazon had attitudes he couldn't understand or accept.

"Eat," Sanji insisted. “You already got here, nobody is going to starve to death in my house.”

When he managed to get Leo to eat and everyone finished their bowls, Sanji passed out some flan desserts with cream and fruit. As soon as he tried it, he found it delicious. No bread at that dinner, it was perfect.

"Now, let's talk," Sanji snapped, looking at Law. “Who is this Bellamy guy?”

Leo shuddered and Law felt Luffy's gaze on him. He cleared his throat and drank water.

"Bellamy was a subordinate of Doflamingo," he began to explain, and everyone's eyes fell on him.

"Doflamingo, the Joker?" Zoro asked.

"Yes," he agreed, looking at the flan in front of him. “Doflamingo dominated the drug market at Gray Terminal and had an extensive network. When he was arrested, he left an empty place that other traffickers tried to monopolize to sell drugs. Bellamy was insignificant to Doflamingo and wasn’t involved in the big business he did, so they found no evidence to put him in jail and now he must want to take his place on the black market.”

"How dangerous is Bellamy?" Sanji questioned seriously.

Law looked at the boy and looked back at the cook.

"He's an idiot," he said bluntly, but clenched his teeth. “Doflamingo is very smart and handled the business with care. If they discovered him, it was because someone inside the organization... betrayed him.”

He hated thinking of Cora-san as a traitor to Doflamingo, because he had never actually been part of the Joker's criminal organization. He was just his brother and he was trying to avoid Doflamingo getting too out of control. At the moment of truth, Cora-san chose Law and Sengoku and had no qualms about turning Doflamingo over.

"But Bellamy is haughty and sloppy. He acts as if nothing could happen to him and treats his subordinates badly. Doflamingo was a skilled manipulator, he wouldn't mistreat someone he wants to have on his side, but Bellamy knows no subtleties.”

Zoro and Sanji looked at him intrigued and Law knew why.

"How do you know so much about them?" Sanji asked at last and Luffy seemed to want to say something, but Law wouldn't let him.

He smiled with a certain irony, because he couldn't believe that after so many years there is a boy like him, trapped in the same mafia, that needed a man like Cora-san to save him.

And he was willing to be. To be like Cora-san.

"I could never forget," he began, looking back at the two men, "the ones who were my family."

.

.

.

After the pertinent explanations —he had already lost count of how many times he had told that story in the past few days— they decided to draw some lines of action to try to break up Bellamy’s network.

The good news was that Bellamy wasn’t like Doflamingo and Law was confident in the success of their plan. Zoro, Sanji and Luffy had participated in designing it, but Luffy didn't seem very happy with many things. He had to remind him several times that the idea wasn’t to hit anyone or he would end up with more than a broken nose. Leo also provided data and information and together they were going to take care of it trying to involve as few people as possible.

Law knew the new Joker from his days with Doflamingo, when Bellamy was yet another subordinate, a bit useless and bastardized by the high commands. They didn't get along, because Law didn’t appreciate Bellamy's constant attempts to win Doflamingo's favors. He always believed that he lacked dignity and that he didn’t have to crawl before someone who never once turned to look at him.

"I'm going to go talk to Bellamy," Law explained with a paper in front of him where he had drawn all the specifications Leo had given him on Bellamy’s base. Doflamingo’s mansion outside Gray Terminal had been seized and sold, so the new headquarters were in the same neighborhood.

So close to the Kamabakka.

It became personal for Zoro, Sanji and Luffy when they realized that the Kamabakka people could also be targets for Bellamy. And it was important to eradicate a self-proclaimed successor to Doflamingo.

"What are you going to get by talking to him, Torao?" Luffy insisted with a frown. He had given him back his yellow hoodie he worn to sleep in and was now wearing his, sprinkled with some blood from his nose. “They know that Cora-san and you turned on Doflamingo, they will not welcome you well.”

"But I was also part of the family, Luffy-ya and they’re going to want to know what I'm doing there."

"Bellamy is not Doflamingo, as you said," Sanji said, looking at him cautiously. “He will not receive you as family if he thinks that because of you the network was disbanded.”

Law smiled at his empty plate.

"Thanks to what Cora-san did, Bellamy was able to get to where he is. If it weren't for the accusation against Doflamingo, he would never have been able to take his place.”

"Don't expect him to thank you," Luffy snapped, folding his arms. “What you want to do is difficult, why don't you let me kick his ass?”

"Because, Luffy-ya, I don't want you to be the one with the legal problem. We are civilians, not the police, we cannot go in and fight all of them.”

The boy was obfuscated. The patch on his nose made him look funny and menacing, but that was reason enough not to fight.

"We'll be backing you up in case something goes wrong," Zoro said. “Try Plan A, talk to Bellamy, and if you get enough information to frame him, we won't do anything. But if it does get dangerous, we'll be there to kick his ass.”

He didn’t object, because he knew that there was no way to change the opinion of those three monsters that made their will an immovable mountain. He knew that at the slightest doubt, they would protect him and help him out of there unscathed.

That was when he realized that, without wanting to, he was already part of another family.

.

.

.

Sanji had left him a few blocks from the hideout that Bellamy used. They told him that they would be there, that he should call if anything happened. As if they were not going to find out if something happened. He had microphones all over his shirt, recording any sounds for evidence that incriminated Bellamy, but it also served as a backing for him, because the three of them were listening to him.

It was good that Sabo wasn’t at home when Luffy went to look for that reporters kit that he had stored. He didn't want Luffy's overprotective brother on top of him right now.

He knocked on the door and waited patiently leaning against the wall. When the hinges creaked, he became alert.

"I told you not to come back until you have the money, brat," a hoarse, familiar voice snapped. “But what the hell...?”

Bellamy was standing at the door, wearing his sunglasses and looking at him with a mixture of surprise and displeasure.

"What are you doing here, traitor?" He spat scornfully.

Law raised an eyebrow and looked at him defiantly.

"If it weren't for that betrayal, you wouldn't be where you are."

Bellamy smiled even more. He looked sickly and sadistic, but Law knew that idiot well enough to know that he wasn't entirely a danger to him.

Because he was right. He had managed to grab Doflamingo’s monopoly because of Cora-san and him.

"Do you want to come in?" Bellamy stepped aside and Law didn’t hesitate.

When he heard the door close behind him, he knew it had started. He needed to collect that information.

"And what’s the reason for your visit?" Bellamy asked sitting in a shabby kitchen. He poured a glass of wine that didn't look very appetizing and handed it to Law.

He took it just to keep up appearances, but he didn't take a sip.

"I found out there is a new Joker in the neighborhood."

Bellamy smirked.

"Is that what they call me?" He couldn't hide how delighted he seemed. “What can I say... we are doing well with the boys. Although without the luxuries that Doflamingo had.”

Bellamy's underlings were taking or drugging around the corners of that less-than-worthy house. Injecting themselves on the couch with the foam outside or drunk in front of the turned on television.

He felt disgust and, above all, an immense desire to smoke. And he didn’t mind doing it at that moment so as not to remember —to _desire_ — all that he came to consume for that business.

"Same modus operandi?" He asked, lighting a cigarette that he kept in the pocket of his black shirt. “I was struck when I heard rumors of children trafficking for a new Joker. I knew it was you instantly.”

Flattering him made him nauseous, but he knew that made Bellamy talkative and happy. And if he kept drinking that cheap wine and got drunk, it would soon be easier to get information.

"We use the best of Doflamingo," he said haughtily, wiping the rings off his hand on his shirt. “But we are smarter.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked skeptically. “How do you keep the children with you then?”

Bellamy smiled almost sadistically and Law feared his answer.

"Our dealers know they can't stop working if no one gets their money." He put his hand on his waist and Law shuddered. “And here we don't like to lose money.”

Doflamingo was also cruel and ruthless and his hand didn’t tremble when it came to punishing the children in his family. But he was manipulative and knew how to have others eating from his hand; how to build a network of people around him. Bellamy did it out of fear.

"And why are you here, Law?" He asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes. “I didn’t expect to have you visiting, do you want to return to business?”

Law crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand.

"I have a medical degree, I have no financial problems," he mentioned with his confident smile. “But I think that as a former part of the family and having contacts with the police, I could provide you... some help to remove the siege that they must surely have in the neighborhood.”

The security with which he spoke was calculated down to the smallest detail. He had his speech planned and he let it out with pauses and calculated breaths.

"I wouldn't want to lose sight of this business," he continued, taking a long drag on his cigarette. “When I was a kid I didn't want to be under Doflamingo’s orders, but I think now I can be very useful with someone... more up to it.”

Bellamy's eyes narrowed, but Law knew the idiot shouldn't be suspicious. He calculated the spaces in the house, the exits, and how many men could pounce if he had a problem. He wouldn't come out of that one very well, so maintaining his facade was crucial.

Bellamy sat up with a big, confident smile.

"What does Corazón think?" He asked in a playful tone that he didn't like at all. “Does he agree that his daddy's boy returns to drugs?

Law got up from the table and puffed on his cigarette.

"It doesn't matter what he says or thinks," he snapped harder than he would have liked. “Cora-san doesn't have to know what I'm doing, we don't live together.”

"Then follow me."

He glanced sideways, trying to mentally count how many men, rooms, and weapons he saw around the house. One wrong step and he would end up riddled.

Bellamy led him down a long hallway, with peeling walls and a few doors, bedrooms perhaps, from which strange noises could be heard.

"Some of my men sleep there," Bellamy mentioned with a smile “At this time they must be busy with their reward for a job well done.”

The insinuating smile he gave him made him sick. Doflamingo also did that. Get them ‘escorts’ when they made good sales. That's what he called it. For refusing many times, Law had been nicknamed ‘faggot’.

Not that he really cared, but now he was more afraid because Bellamy didn't seem to settle for calling some sex worker. And he saw him as perfectly capable of forcing the women of the neighborhood.

He pushed his gag reflex down the end of his throat and followed the man down the hall, where he opened a door and ran to show him inside.

"This is our great kitchen," he snapped proudly.

Great was a way of saying. The drug kitchen was crowded and stuffed in that room. The conditions in which they produced the drug didn’t look very good. Doflamingo took more care of those details too. He didn’t sell a poor quality drug.

And he knew it because he had consumed it.

"Your scientific knowledge would be pretty useful," Bellamy said, looking at his instruments. “When we were kids, Doflamingo put a lot of faith in you. Do you think you can improve our production? If you do that, I can give you a bigger share of the money.”

Law looked at the objects and the raw material and made a disgusted gesture, but tried not to show it. With Doflamingo he had participated, learning from one of the men close to the Joker, Trebol. He saw how he made it and knew how to improve it.

"I was with Trebol when he made it," he commented, turning to Bellamy. “I know I can do it.”

“Perfect. If you take care of improving the kitchen and the production, and you prevent us from having any trouble with the police, I think you would be a good partner. Doflamingo didn't know how to take advantage of you, but I'm a much better negotiator, don't you think, Law?”

He bit the inside of his cheek so he could smile, nodding with the confidence he had to fake.

“Alright. You can come in two days, the suppliers will bring us a large load of raw materials so that we can start working in the kitchen.”

"Is the provider the same as before?" Law asked, expecting Bellamy to mention it.

“Yes, even though we are not Doflamingo, Kaido continues to trust us and continues to sell to us.”

Kaido was a very heavyweight in the drug market. He trafficked with Doflamingo and many minor gangs. He was not only in Gray Terminal but in many neighborhoods in the country.

When they managed to imprison Doflamingo, they could find no evidence against Kaido or any link to him, but now Bellamy was explicitly saying so.

"Okay," Law smiled, returning to the living room. “In two days I can come back.”

Bellamy leaned against the kitchen counter and took a gulp of the disgusting wine that Law didn't want to touch.

But Bellamy wasn't that good and at some point he was going to start teasing Law to test him.

"Wouldn’t Corazón want to go back to business now that his older brother is gone?" He asked in a petulant voice as if telling a joke. “Although maybe that's why he doesn't want to participate, right?”

Law knew he only wanted to provoke him, to confirm his determination to participate, but he hated when someone spoke ill of Corazón. And he knew what he was going to come out with right now.

"You know, I was always curious about something," he started, sitting up and circling the kitchen with his haughty smile. “It is a silly rumor circulating among Doflamingo's subordinates. Surely you heard of it…”

He clenched his teeth. He did know. It bothered him so much, but he couldn't say anything yet.

"It seems that it slipped from one of the high commands and when a subordinate heard it, he began to spread it. Later everyone found out, but it was never confirmed.”

"Say it now, Bellamy," Law spat. His voice sounded dangerously angry. Bellamy smiled more.

"Do you know who spread the rumor?" He asked, looking at him with feigned joy. “That person surely knows how true or wrong it is.”

“What are you talking about? Explain yourself.”

"Ha." He laughed as if he enjoyed having that knowledge that Law didn’t possess and began to drive him mad. “The rumor that between Corazón and Doflamingo there was... _something else_ than that brotherhood they wanted to show.”

He clenched his fists and looked away indignantly. Of course he had heard that rumor when he was part of the family. He knew what Bellamy had just said. The rumor was that someone, no one knew who, had overheard a conversation between Diamante, one of Doflamingo's trusted men, and the Joker. Apparently they spoke of Corazón in a... vulgar way.

They treated him like Doflamingo’s whore.

Thus Doflamingo spoke of his brother. The only person who ever really loved him.

"That's just a rumor," Law snapped without looking at him. He lit another cigarette.

Bellamy smiled even more.

"I heard that rumor, Law," he said in his deep voice and arrogant tone. “I heard Diamante and Doflamingo talk about Corazón in that way and told the others”.

He showed his teeth, with the most despicable smile in the world and Law wanted to pull out all his teeth.

"That's not true, Bellamy," he growled. “They are brothers.”

"I heard him talking about Corazon as his whore, Law. It's time for you to accept what that father of yours is. A vulgar…”

The fist came so fast that Bellamy didn't see it coming. Law had been raised among those thugs, he was very clear on how to fight and he didn't care about any consequences.

When Bellamy's men pounced on him, Law prepared to hit them all. He was beaten and felt his nose or mouth bleeding, he wasn’t sure. There were many of them and he knew that he wasn’t going to get out of it unscathed. But he was prepared for that. And in his fury, he didn't mind taking injuries if, instead, he could ruin Bellamy's and his thugs’ faces.

He didn't count on the rickety door of the house falling with the broken hinges and Luffy, Zoro and Sanji kicking in.

He didn’t realize that they had barged in until he was close to them, fighting behind his back to prevent them from beating him to death. Sanji grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him toward the door to release Bellamy who had a puffy eye.

"Law enough, we must get out of here," he growled at him as he tried to push him toward the door.

"You damn son of a bitch!" He heard Bellamy yell. The blow to the eye had stunned him and he was throwing fists at different places without seeing. “Law, son of a bitch! Why did you come here, traitor?”

He felt Sanji keep pulling him away from the scene but he forced himself to let go and return. His eyes were wide, he wanted to break Bellamy's face the way he should have done when they were part of the Donquixote family, before he gave so much trouble.

Someone —one of Bellamy's minions— threw a punch at him in the temple that almost knocked him out. He felt dizzy and his eyes couldn't focus well. Sanji kept hugging him from behind, as if he was afraid to release him and let him make some stupid crazy shit.

Another thug tried to hit Sanji but was knocked down by Zoro. He caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, he had also been beaten. Bellamy's men were drugged, in utter decline. They had launched to attack them empty-handed and poorly coordinated.

Or so he thought until the sound of a shot rang out in the room followed by a scream.

Sanji pulled him out of the house and yanked him into his car, parked in the corner. He climbed into the driver's seat and turned it on.

"I want to go down, let me down!" He snapped as he locked the doors.” Sanji-ya, let me down, I'm not done yet!”

“You stay here, you have the microphones on you, you can't risk anything else!”

Deep down, Law had always decided not to believe that rumor. When he lived with Cora-san, he still remembered it and the image of his father being used by Doflamingo made his gut churn. He had blocked it, believing it impossible. But he couldn't underestimate that son of a bitch Doflamingo.

Neither Cora-san's determination to bring him to justice.

He was even willing to use his body to keep Doflamingo close to him.

He wanted to scream, cry and set fire to that shitty place where the drug was cooking.

Cora-san was his brother! How could he do that to his blood?

Luffy and Zoro rushed into the car, carelessly throwing themselves into the seats. Luffy sat on the back with him and Zoro hadn't even closed the door, which Sanji unlocked earlier, when the car started at full speed to get them out of there.

He was still shocked and disappointed. He wanted to set everything on fire, watch them burn in hell. Not even prison was enough for the desire for destruction he felt for Bellamy and even for Doflamingo.

“Torao, calm down!” Luffy shouted, holding his shoulders and forcing him to focus his vision on him. “Look at me, okay? It’s over, you already have what we wanted! There is evidence, we have him on record and we hit them, you have to calm down!”

Coming from him, he didn't trust his words very much, but he took a deep breath because he didn't want to make a scene there.

"Bellamy is a son of a bitch," Zoro snapped. “He wanted to infuriate you with his words. You don't even know if he was the one who spread that rumor.”

He pressed his hands to the jeans he was wearing and looked at Zoro. He could see blood on his face. He touched his own and felt the blows and injuries. His lip had broken and his nose was bleeding.

He bit his lip thinking how many things his father did to protect him and everyone from that monster.

"Torao..."

"Yes, I know," he said to shut him up.

When he looked at him, he noticed that Luffy was pressing his side, in his rib, with both hands. He frowned.

“What's wrong? He demanded, reaching out to touch him. Luffy backed away.

"It's nothing," He said quickly, and he narrowed his eyes.

Luffy was holding and squeezing his side as if he had been hit. And he ground his teeth.

"Luffy-ya, let me check you out," he snapped energetically and saw him shake his head.

"It's nothing, don't worry."

"I don't give a shit."

He had never treated him like that, but he was upset and worried about that gesture. He was afraid it was something bad. He launched himself at him and snatched his hands away. There was blood on his hoodie and he was sure it wasn’t the dried blood from his fight the night before.

"What’s this, Luffy-ya? Did they shoot you?"

Zoro and Sanji turned instantly, looking at Luffy with concern.

"Look ahead goddamnit!" Zoro yelled at the driver of the car and Sanji had to straighten up. “Luffy, what the fuck did they do to you?”

The boy sighed and raised his hoodie to show his stomach. Law wasted no time and his cold, trembling hands checked his wound.

"It's shallow," he gasped with relief and groped around with his fingers. Luffy complained. “Sorry Sorry. At my house I can treat you. All of you.”

He felt guilty about it. He had lost control and everyone had been injured. Luffy had narrowly avoided a bullet. The shot was from Bellamy or his thugs and that was Luffy's scream. He was very angry and frustrated with himself.

"Relax, Torao. I'm fine, it doesn't hurt…”

“Don’t lie,” he said quietly. “Take off your hoodie, I'll make a tourniquet.”

Luckily he didn't protest and handed his hoodie over without saying a word. Law took advantage of it’s long sleeves to tie it around Luffy's waist and press the fabric against the wound with force. He heard him gasp and take a breath but didn't care. It was crucial for him not to lose blood out there.

He leaned back in the seat and sighed. He felt completely dejected and tired, also as if he had failed, but Luffy spoke a truth. They had what they had come for.

Something hit him in the face and when he looked down he saw a pack of cigarettes.

"It's mine," Sanji told him, staring at the road. “Yours fell there. Smoke”

Law didn’t question that. He needed it. He lit a cigarette and lowered the window slightly.

He felt Luffy's worried look and snorted, but didn't say anything else. He convinced Sanji to take them to his house to find his medicine cabinet and tools that he had stored to heal Luffy. He was less than two minutes at home and ran down the stairs to meet the car and head towards Sanji's.

Leo had stayed there with Nami. They had asked her to take care of him while trying to get Bellamy's information.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Nami shouted when she saw them enter.

Their looks said they were back from a fight. Luffy half naked, bloody and with a patch on his nose, Zoro and him with a bruised face and dried blood.

As soon as they entered, Law took off his microphones and locked himself in the bathroom to wash his hands. It had been a long time since he had been so upset and remembering that unbalanced him a little. He washed his face too and gasped at the pain in the wounds. He quickly wiped the dried blood from his lip and returned.

He scanned the damage received by the others. Zoro only had blows like him, nothing that a few days, painkillers and ice couldn’t solve. Sanji had received no damage. Luffy was the most injured.

When he came out he saw Nami questioning them and Luffy trying to calm her down. Leo also looked scared looking at the injured boys.

"Zoro-ya, put ice on your fist. Here is disinfectant and cotton. Analgesic too.” He handed him a medicine cabinet and looked at Luffy intently. “You lie down on the couch.”

Luffy complied, thankfully. He removed the hoodie and checked his wound. It was not serious, he thought about that. He could treat him.

"Your brothers are going to kill me," he muttered under his breath and heard Luffy laugh. “Does it hurt a lot?”

He had been rough with him in the car. He was very tense and upset and didn’t react well, but now he realized that he didn’t want to see him suffer that pain.

"I'm fine." Luffy was smiling and seemed oblivious to the situation, as if nothing affected him. Law knew he was enduring so as not to worry him; that he was doing it for him.

He didn’t have all the necessary instruments to treat him or take an x-ray, as the protocol required. He was nervous because he didn't want to play with a wound like that, and less with that boy who had gone to kick thugs in the ass for him.

He felt a warm hand cling to his wrist that distracted him and he looked at Luffy.

"Don't lose your head, Torao," he said in a low but clear voice. “I know you can, you're a surgeon. You can do it.”

He breathed and tried to calm down. Sure he could. He knew how to do it. And the confident look of his patient encouraged him even more.

.

.

.

.

Luffy stayed in Sanji's room, lying on his bed. At first he didn't want to and made a tantrum, but Law and Sanji weren’t willing to leave him on the couch when there was a comfortable and wide bed. His hoodie was definitely ruined and he ended up wearing a shirt from Sanji that was a little too long for him. Luffy accepted everything on the condition that they go to the room to chat with him.

Leo stayed in the living room watching television and Nami leaning against the door frame of the bedroom, looking at the boy from time to time and participating in the conversation with them. Law had also put on an ice and healed his lip wound. His head hurt a lot and he was sure he would have bruises the next day. He would remember Bellamy every time he looked in the mirror for the next few days.

He sat on the edge of the bed with Zoro and a computer where the audio was being downloaded.

"This is going to work, Law," Zoro said, looking at him. “You did a good job.”

While he healed himself in the kitchen, they had listened to the audios to verify that it was heard clearly. The fight had distorted the sound a bit, but even the screaming and shooting were heard. He hadn't wanted to participate or listen to them again because he was sure he would lose control again if he heard Bellamy talk about his father.

He was still angry and hurt by that. He wanted to go back and set fire to that house. But Luffy's emergency had distracted him and after that he was less exalted. Sanji made coffee and having a hot cup in his hands was comforting.

He felt Luffy's gaze forcing him to take his eyes off the dark liquid. He didn't know the way he was looking at him, like he wanted to say something really important to him and didn't know how. Luffy never did that, he didn't think much before speaking.

"Sanji said we can't take this to any police person," he began with an uncharacteristic caution in him, which was quite a whirlwind, "because many of them are allied with the mafias. But I know some policemen, Fujitora and Smoker’s division, they are friends of my grandfather, and trustworthy people. But... Do you want us to cut the audios?”

Law looked over the mug and sighed. He didn’t want to deliver such an intimate secret from Cora-san to justice. Not because it could bring him trouble; Doflamingo's cause was old and that rumor was beyond proof, but he didn't want it to be in the hands of everyone.

However, not altering the tape was important to their credibility.

"No," he answered, clearing his throat. “It's okay like that. Cora-san will understand.”

“Why don't you talk with him?” Luffy offered and pointed to his cell phone on the bed. “Call him.”

He looked at his hands and sighed. His fists were red from the blows and he was not the only one. But he didn't mind at the time.

"I'll call to let him know, but we're going to deliver those audios."

He picked up his phone and dialed Cora-san's number when he stepped out onto the huge balcony of Sanji's room.

.

.

.

"How could you not tell me, Law ?!

His father's scream echoed through his ear and Law covered his face.

"What's done is done Cora-san. Also I got into this problem and it is not Doflamingo that I went to look for, so you have nothing to do with it.”

He heard him snort and Law smiled, softened that he cared so much about him.

"I don't like you putting yourself in harm’s…”

"I'm not a kid anymore," he interrupted. “I'm twenty-seven years old and it's time for me to take care of certain things. We have the evidence and no one was hurt.”

They at least. Cora-san didn't have to know that.

"Luffy-ya said he had police acquaintances from his grandfather. Sengoku must know who they are. It is Fujitora's division and his right hand Smoker.”

“Yes. They are former colleagues of Sengoku and Garp when they worked with the police. Good people.”

He cleared his throat knowing that he had to make the comment.

“They will receive the audios... without alterations. I authorized that, but…”

"I know, Law." The friendly tone slipped back into the phone and he shuddered. “I'm not ashamed of anything I did to get you and all the kids out of there. Sengoku knows this. I told him.”

He covered his mouth with one hand and tried not to be overcome by that sudden sinking sensation.

"Then doesn't it bother you that...?"

A laugh came from the other side.

"No," he replied calmly and affectionately. “What I had to do is not a secret, Law. It is my best triumph.”

When he hung that call, he couldn't go back in for a long time. The tears that had fallen showed his enormous love for that man who sold everything of himself to save the most people he could.

Even his body.

But never his soul.

“Torao?” Luffy's voice slipped into his thoughts and when he turned around he saw him on the bed, wrapped in Sanji's feather blankets.

He wiped his tears furiously and looked at him exhausted. Zoro, Sanji and Nami weren’t there, they would surely have left him to rest, but Law was still on the balcony talking to his father.

“What happens?”

"If anyone had doubts about how amazing Cora-san is, it was proven today that he is a hero," he agreed, staring at him. “You don't have to be ashamed of your heroes' battles, Torao.”

He shuddered, because Luffy's words were warm and seemed to get him out of those familiar dark places where he had already been, clearing black mists that swirled above his head.

He smiled, just a bit, but he did it. And that was all Luffy needed to give him his grimace of happiness and openness. That incredible smile of a thousand suns that only a boy like Luffy, after taking a bullet for him, could give him.


	10. The Free ones and the Bullet

Corazón put a cup of tea in his hands and sat next to him.

“So what happened?” He asked with his typical, friendly smile. “Sengoku also called me when he found out that you delivered the audios. He asked me if I was okay with that.”

Law winced at the memory, but Cora-san seemed so comfortable and made him feel good in a way he couldn't understand. He should be the one to hug him for doing everything he had to do.

“We went to Fujitora’s and Smoker’s division and reported them. They listened to the audios with us, they took the accusation and we told him about Leo” he mentioned looking at the liquid in the cup. The heat warmed his hands and made him feel calmer at the memory of something so moving. “Now he has to testify as a protected witness, but they let him stay at Shirohige's home. After the raid on Bellamy's, all the children stayed home. When the trial begins, they will be called to testify.”

"And what happened to Luffy?" His father asked, concerned.

Of course, after learning about the journey his son had gotten into, he wanted to see the crazy friends who had followed him into that mess. He even tried to go to Sanji's to thank him.

"He's at Sanji-ya's house, he's going to stay a few days," he replied feeling a little embarrassed by that. 

If Luffy wasn't so stubborn, he could have taken him to North Blue to be treated accordingly. It hadn't been very wise to set up a butcher shop at Sanji's house. 

“You’re serious?!” Corazón's eyes widened and Law snorted. “And Garp or his brothers don’t know about it?”

“Luffy only lives with Sabo, and is the one who most notices his absence. Anyway, he didn't tell them about his injury.”

Before leaving Sanji's to take the audios to Fujitora's and Smoker's division with Zoro, they agreed that Luffy would stay there for a few days. The boy didn’t want his brothers to find out and somehow convinced them to let him stay. Luffy was old enough and could go around by himself, and it wasn’t the first time that he hadn’t returned home for several days, according to what they told him, but the relationship with his brothers was very close and they always told each other everything.

"I have to go see him later to check his injuries."

"And what did they say at the Kamabakka? I imagine that Luffy is not going to teach his soccer lessons, right?”

"If it were up to him, surely," Law said with a smile. “Luffy told Ivan on the phone. After all, he is his godmother, according to him. I don't know, I didn't quite understand that.”

Law had crossed paths with him in the Kamabakka that day and the man came to speak to him. They all seemed very overprotective of Luffy and he felt a little responsible for what had happened to him. Ivan laughed at his doubts and told him that Luffy would have done that for anyone he liked. _He would have taken a bullet for you if he cares about you,_ he had mentioned and Law shuddered.

They made him take a medical leave on the Kamabakka and Zoro, Sanji and Usopp would take turns to take care of Luffy’s workshop.

“Are you worried?” Corazón's voice seeped into his head and he looked at him without knowing what to say.

"Maybe a little. He recovers quickly, but he worried me at first.”

Corazón smiled. He put his hand behind Law's neck and brought him against his, resting his head on his.

"I'm sorry I caused so much suffering," he said quietly, and Law's heart clenched. “If it weren't for my brother, all of you…”

He raised his hand to hug him back and felt Corazón tuck his head into his neck. He trembled in his arms and Law felt so weak.

"Cora-san," he murmured slowly. “Don’t say that. It’s not your fault nor you’re obligated to take responsibility for what Doflamingo or Bellamy did. They caused you a lot of suffering too.”

He felt something warm on his shoulder and he didn't have to guess to know that it was Cora-san’s tears. Corazón was crying for all those years of endurance and thrust where he had to be the strongest to withstand everything and deal with Law's education. Now that it was settled, after the issue with Bellamy had removed his old memories, he could let go of all that had accumulated and release a little bit of the burden.

"I don't know what I would do without you," he heard him say muffled by his shirt. "If I didn't have a son I would have gone mad."

Law smiled, gently stroking Corazón's back to calm him.

"I'm here," he said quietly. “You saved me Cora-san. Everything you did had a purpose and it worked.”

Corazón took a quick breath and laughed, interrupted by a gasp.

"I am so relieved!"

He was too. They were free from Doflamingo, Bellamy and anyone who wanted to keep them as slaves again.

.

.

.

He rang Sanji's bell and waited patiently, balancing the coffees he had on his hands.

"You didn't have to," the cook mentioned when he opened the door for him.

"I stopped by a coffee shop and bought one for everyone. Except for Luffy-ya.”

"He has juice," Sanji laughed.

When he opened the door to his apartment, the heat hit his face and made him feel comfortable. The apartment was always well acclimatized and smelled of perfume. Sanji took care of his house as if it were his appearance.

"Hello Law," Zoro greeted him, sitting in the large kitchen. “How are you?”

"Did Torao come?" Luffy's scream seemed to come from one of the bedrooms and he laughed. “I want to go too!”

"You stay there, Luffy," Sanji replied, rolling his eyes. He saw him take a glass out of the fridge and pour juice.

Law gave the coffee to Zoro and Sanji and drank some of his.

"Let's go to the bedroom or Luffy won't stop shouting."

They followed Sanji down the hallway that connected the bedrooms to the living room and kitchen. The apartment had two bedrooms, one for guests, where Luffy was staying, and Sanji's. Both were spacious and comfortable.

"Hello Torao!" Luffy greeted him from the bed. “I'm bored, can you discharge me?”

"Luffy-ya, it's only been two days," he muttered wearily.

They sat in chairs that Sanji had brought there before and the cook gave him the juice.

"Here." Luffy took it as happily as if he were a child.

"Can I check you?" He asked, looking at him closely.

The boy nodded, settling himself better on the bed to uncover himself. Law pulled up a little the clothes he loaned him to show the bandage. He took it off slowly, treating it with the care he knew how to give to the bodies of his patients.

The wound was fine, almost closed, and he smirked. He treated him again and Luffy didn’t complain. Bandaging him was very easy, he had taught Luffy and, just in case, Sanji.

He removed the bandage on his nose and found that it was fine. Luffy was very lucky or very unlucky, but both of his wounds —won in the past few days— were fine and healing quickly.

"Anyway, you are fine. Surely in two days I could discharge you, ”he teased with a smile looking at the boy. Luffy laughed and celebrated.

"Too bad I can't eat Sanji's food anymore."

"He heals fairly quickly, doesn't he?" Zoro asked and sipped his coffee. 

"He has a great recovery, yes. But the injury was not serious. I am being careful just in case, but he was not in great danger.”

Sanji invited him to lunch and he accepted. The cook prepared delicious meals and it wouldn't hurt to stay for a while. He let Luffy get up to go with them to the living room. The boy was able to move and didn't seem to handle confinement very well. Zoro accompanied him to the sofa and Luffy raised his legs, crossing them.

"You're not good at being sick, are you?" Law said with a lopsided smile. He sat next to Luffy with Zoro in front of them, on the other side of the coffee table.

"He broke his arm once and Sabo locked him up in his room for a few days to keep him from doing crazy things," Sanji told him, putting on his apron.

"He wanted to continue playing soccer," added Zoro.

"I had broken my arm, not my leg!" Luffy snapped as a defense.

Nothing surprised him about that boy. Hopefully he had stayed at Sanji's without moving too much.

"Law, did you speak to your father?" Sanji asked from the kitchen, a frying pan in hand.

"I saw him yesterday, we talked about what happened. He said he wants to accompany the boys when they have to testify.”

Corazón had dedicated much of his life, after escaping from Doflamingo, to participating in social adoption organizations. He knew that he did it, at least a little, because he felt guilty for everything he had to allow while being with Doflamingo.

"He's going to have to testify again too," Zoro said, looking at him intently. “They’re going to ask him about Bellamy's accusations. You’ll also have to.”

"I know." He touched his forehead and sighed. “Doflamingo’s thing is a closed case, Cora-san has already won that, but they may need testimonials that confirm everything Bellamy said regarding the drugs, the providers and how things were done.”

"We'll have to go too," Luffy said, looking at the two of them, "and tell what we saw."

"Didn't your grandfather know anything?" Sanji asked from the kitchen. “Fujitora and Smoker are his friends, right?”

"He called me yesterday and we talked about it. Sabo and Ace know it too. The only thing they don't know is this.” He pointed to his abdomen and turned his gaze to them. “They insisted that I come home, but I told them that I would stay here with you to think about what to do.”

Sanji returned to the living room with a small tray and some mug.

"Here, it's soup." He placed the tray on the table. “So that you can heat up before the meal.”

Luffy lunged forward delighted and smiled. Law enjoyed the delicious aroma that came from the mug and how hot it felt between his fingers.

"Grandpa is going to keep an eye on all this, too. He told me he is in another division, almost retired, but he has a close relationship with Fujitora and Smoker. He spoke to them and wants to know what will happen.”

"When I made the report, they told me they were going to call us all later, when the hearings began and after the search of Bellamy," Law said.

"It was the day before yesterday, wasn't it?" Zoro asked and he nodded.

Law had been notified of the raid on Bellamy’s by Fujitora's department, and was pleased when he saw it on the news. They took all of their men and the children had been taken under the guardianship of the State, but they stayed at Shirohige's.

"Luckily they found everything intact," he added. ”The idiot of Bellamy didn't even change things.”

Sanji returned with another tray full of bowls with food. It looked like a paella and Luffy got impatient as soon as he saw it. The four of them sat around the coffee table. Sanji had a large dining room where they could sit, but Luffy had already been placed on the couch and they were all comfortable there. 

Sanji lit a cigarette while they ate. 

"Law," he called, biting gently on the tip of the cigarette. “Do you want to stay over?”

He raised his eyebrow in confusion and looked at his watch. It was not that late, he could go home. He didn't take the car because he thought it would be a quick visit.

"We have space, if that's what you're worried about," added the cook, and he looked up. “In the guest room, where Luffy is staying, there is a large bed. You both fit. But this sofa also turns into a bed.”

He didn't have to look at Luffy to see him move contentedly with a grin from ear to ear.

"Yes, stay Torao, we are going to see a movie later, and we ordered ice cream!" 

He sighed wearily, but it didn't seem like such a bad idea. There was nothing strange about agreeing, was there? Those boys had become friends in the past few months. He had been with them at numerous events, they had played soccer —much to his regret— and even accompanied him to knock on the door of a gangster.

"Okay," he agreed with a soft smile. “Thanks, Sanji-ya.”

When they finished the meal, and after Luffy licked the plate twice, Zoro turned on the television and they browsed Netflix. In the end Luffy chose a horror movie that didn't seem very reliable. Sanji ordered ice cream and the four of them piled onto the sofa with the ice cream pot open on the coffee table and each with a cup.

"Now comes the part where he cuts off his head," Luffy said with bright eyes.

"Luffy don't spoil it!" Sanji shouted and covered his face.

"If you already saw it, why do you put it on?" Zoro looked outraged, but he was actually enjoying the movie as much as Luffy.

"Oh, it's obvious, he grabbed the machete!" He defended himself.

"I don't understand why the girl is going to look for him," he murmured curiously. The movie was pretty bad, but he was amused by Luffy and Zoro's reactions. "She's going into the basement where the... demon or whatever is waiting for her."

"I would go too!" Luffy shouted and Zoro followed him with a smile. “If there’s a demon in my house, I would go and hit him!”

He expected nothing less of him, honestly.

"As you are, the only thing you can hit is Barney the dinosaur," Sanji teased, and Zoro laughed out loud.

It was funny to see Luffy obfuscated, his cheeks full of air. Sanji and Zoro teased his condition a bit and if he was honest, he found it funny when they did.

Zoro turned off the television when the movie ended and stretched.

"Do you want to sleep here?" Sanji asked and Law nodded.

It seemed inappropriate to sleep in bed with Luffy. He didn’t know why. When he stayed to sleep at home they had not shared the same bed and it would be strange to do so now.

Sanji moved the coffee table and he and Zoro opened the sofa. They gave him sheets and a pillow, and Sanji loaned him some sleepwear.

"I'm leaving early tomorrow," Law said when he came out of the bathroom. “Do I wake you up or ...?”

"No need," said Sanji. “You can get out of here and the doorman opens you downstairs.”

When they went to sleep and turned off all the lights, he leaned back and looked at his cell phone a little. In the end, he had not returned home. He would have to wake up earlier to pick up his work clothes and go to the clinic. Fortunately, he took a shower before going to Sanji’s, otherwise he wouldn’t have time.

The phone vibrated and he looked with some surprise at Luffy's message.

> [08/25 11:32 pm] Luffy: Are you asleep, Torao?
> 
> [08/25 11:33 pm] Trafalgar Law: No, Luffy-ya,
> 
> what's up?
> 
> [08/25 11:33 pm] Luffy: I can't sleep and I'm bored.
> 
> Zoro and Sanji make a lot of noise.

He smiled looking at the screen. He had also noticed certain things between the two men and it didn’t go unnoticed that Zoro stayed over as well, in Sanji's room. He fleetingly recalled the comments that Nami, Vivi and Usopp used to make and smiled.

> [08/25 11:35 pm] Luffy: Can I go there?
> 
> I'm not sleepy, I want to talk for a while.
> 
> T [08/25 11:36 pm] Trafalgar Law: Better not move, Luffy-ya.
> 
> I’ll go.

He got up and left his warm blanket place behind. He continued down the hall until he reached the guest room. The light was on and he entered without knocking, gently moving the door to alert Luffy.

"Hello," he heard him whisper. He sat up a little. “Did I wake you up?”

"No, I hadn't fallen asleep yet," he answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He stepped closer to see him. “How do you feel? Does it hurt?”

"No, I'm fine," he replied, laughing. “It hurt more when I broke my arm.”

He rolled his eyes because he couldn't compare a bullet to that. Although both were major injuries.

"Sorry about that." The words came out before he could stop them, but he didn't say anything strange or that he hadn't thought of before. “Seriously, if I hadn't lost control ... "

“Shut up, Torao," Luffy said with a laugh and Law looked at him. “It’s nothing. It wasn’t your fault. Anyone could have gotten shot and, honestly, better me than anyone else.”

He opened his eyes in surprise and didn’t know what to say. Luffy was an indecipherable being many times, and when he gave him the privilege of seeing a little inside him, he became even more kaleidoscopic.

"I’d take a bullet for any friend," he said confidently, and Ivan's words echoed in his mind. He smiled. Ivan knew him very well.

"Ivan said that when I saw him yesterday at the Kamabakka," he replied, laughing. “That you would get a bullet for someone you like.”

Luffy looked at him closely. He didn't know why he was doing it, but his gaze transmitted a lot of intensity.

"He is right," he said quietly, and he shuddered.

They were silent for a few seconds and Law smiled at a sudden memory.

"It's funny that we always end up talking late."

Luffy laughed and nodded several times.

"At camp, at your house, and here," he numbered with his fingers.

"At the Kamabakka party and texting," he added.

He had questioned the nature of his relationship with Luffy many times. Almost everyone he knew had a relationship with Luffy and his own ideas of what the boy was like. They always spoke of him as a very particular person. His brothers endorsed him, his friends referred to him with great affection and even Ivan spoke of the whirlwind child as a spring sun.

It was funny and weird to be creating his own version of Luffy, which was moving away and connecting at the same time with the other stories about the soccer boy. Maybe his had more to do with those hilarious and chaotic moments which Luffy had turned all his interactions into. But also in the messages at dawn and the deep and sincere conversations at the stroke of midnight.

"I like them," Luffy said, "those moments with you."

.

.

.

He opened his eyes slowly as the sun filtered through the window. He was not used to feeling the sunshine, in his room the blinds always remained closed and it was a dark refuge.

He rubbed his eyes and reached up for the cell phone. His alarm hadn't ring because he got up a few minutes earlier. He sat up slowly. A body slept peacefully beside him. He could feel his breathing calm and strong. He turned around and saw him lying with his face towards the sun. How could he keep sleeping like this?

In the end he had stayed to sleep on that bed. They talked until late, Law couldn't fall asleep any earlier, and ,only when Luffy fell asleep, he tried to close his eyes too. The passage of time with Luffy was always blurred, without borders, as if he disrupted all the things that previously seemed to have rationality and turned them into liquid that slipped from his hands.

He went looking for his clothes in the living room and heated up some coffee that Sanji had left the night before. He arranged the empty sofa where he didn't sleep and had a quick breakfast before leaving. He didn't hear the footsteps coming from the hallway, he only saw Luffy when he leaned back against the frame.

“Are you leaving?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

He wasn't wearing a shirt and his bandage was showing. The scar on his chest gleamed against the morning sun. He had checked him before going to bed and it was fine. It was strange, but he had a kind of obsession with checking his wound all the time.

"Go to bed, Luffy-ya," Law murmured quietly, as if he was afraid of waking someone up. “See you tomorrow, I will surely stop by to see the wound.”

The boy smiled but didn’t leave. He stepped closer to Law and took the keys to the house.

"Let me open the door for you."

"But don't come down," Law snapped authoritatively. “Don't move, tomorrow you can go back to your house. Below is the doorman, don't worry.”

Luffy rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance but his mischievous smile seemed to indicate that he knew he wouldn't get away with it this time. He opened the door for him and stood there, waiting for him to leave.

There was something hilarious in all that moment. He didn’t know what. But it was surreal to be at Sanji's house with Luffy bandaged and shirtless opening the door to dismiss him. He smiled at the thought. 

"Thanks for staying with me last night." Luffy's smile was big and honest. 

"No problem, Luffy-ya."

He had the urge to raise his hand and touch him, but he held back. He didn't know —or maybe he did— where that came from and preferred not to think about it.

"See you tomorrow," he said instead, turning his back on the elevator.

The more time he spent with him, the more everything he knew felt disrupted. The sea and storm boy had come to destroy everything.


	11. The Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I always want to make this clarification and I forget it: the seasons are changed. It wasn’t my intention! I wanted to keep the seasons in the corresponding months as if the story was happening in Japan (that is, like in the northern hemisphere) but when I started writing the fanfic, I forgot. And I used the seasons as they happen here in the southern hemisphere. When I realized it, most of the story was already written and I would really have to change a lot of it, so... yeah, sorry, I guess.

By the end of September the incident had been left behind. Luffy had recovered within a few days and only stayed at Sanji’s two more nights before returning home. He didn't know if Ace and Sabo finally found out about his injury. Somehow they should have seen the scar, but Luffy never told him if there were any repercussions. Nor if he had told them, at least, about his nose. Although, in light of the events, the broken nose was the least important. He had returned to his soccer classes at the Kamabakka later, when he and Ivan authorized that he could do P.E. normally. After all, a month had passed.

He was sure he would cross paths with him at the Kamabakka on that day. Law didn’t usually go on Fridays, his shifts were on Monday and Thursday, but Ivan had asked him to change shifts because he had to work more hours in one of the hospitals where he worked.

Law knew that Ivan was a recognized endocrinologist and always full of work. In addition to directing the Kamabakka, he participated in many social organizations, had his own office where he worked with girls and boys who carried out hormonal treatments, and numerous prestigious hospitals that paid him enough so that he could dedicate himself to social activities.

Also, as he recalled, Ivan's husband was a well-known marine biologist who ran the city's nature reserve. They were an odd couple, full of occupations and jobs. He honestly didn’t know how they managed to handle everything. He only with the North Blue and the Kamabakka already had enough for his week.

He took a sip of coffee while waving to Patty who was packing his things in the Kamabakka's kitchen before leaving. In the office he saw a note Ivan left him the day before with things that he didn’t get to do. When Law went on Thursdays, he used to have a lot of people in the office because it was the first day of the week that they opened in the afternoon.

Now it was Ivan's Thursdays and he had left some pending issues written on the note. He smiled as he recognized the neat endocrinologist's calligraphy. Before, it was he who left notes overloaded with all the things he had not been able to do. Now he would have to suffer a little to be on the other side.

He texted Ace to see how Leo was doing. Since Bellamy was reported, he has been in contact with Shirohige’s Home, where the boys were staying. Leo had become close to Ace and a friend to Tama. Luffy promised to see him and Law also wanted to go. He was glad that Shirohige was there for those guys. If a home like that had existed when he was a boy, he wouldn't have ended at Doflamingo's.

Although that brought him closer to Corazón. He fulfilled that role that supported him all his life.

Remembering his father brought back that conversation they had several weeks earlier. The incident with Bellamy revealed secrets that Corazón would have preferred to keep hidden and for Law it meant dusting off memories and reliving those dark moments from his past.

Corazón became strongly involved when they reported Bellamy and accompanied the children to testify. He and Luffy, Sanji, Zoro hadn't been called yet, and Corazón didn't have to give statements again, which was a relief. Law was sure this reminded him of his time helping in various adoption organizations and homes, when they had just moved in together.

His cell phone vibrated in his hand. Ace had sent him a picture of Leo with his friends at the home and he smiled. He looked more relaxed. He could still remember him in Sanji's house, all scared, without being able to believe that such delicious food was also for him.

The knock on the door brought him out of his musings and he prepared to attend to the residents of the neighborhood. He also had Ivan’s pending tasks. However, he could always leave some to Marco who took care of Saturdays.

He heard shouting, singing, and cheering at the end of his shift. He was closing the office and sorting the papers when he recognized the sound of the Kamabakka's yard. The dining room was empty and the room where they practiced kendo was too. For a moment he felt out of place, until he remembered the change of shifts with Ivan.

Normally on Thursdays he would see Zoro and his kendo workshop. The _shinai_ , or bamboo sabers, were stacked in a corner of the room and everything was dark. On Fridays Luffy trained with his soccer team. He had recently returned and as he knew the boys were really happy to see their coach come back.

He leaned against the back door frame and watched the boys play. Tama was the first to see him and began to greet him with a wave of her hand. That small distraction earned her that one of the boys, inadvertently, swept her to the ground. Luffy immediately blew the whistle he had around his neck and ran to the aid of both.

“Are you alright?” He heard him ask. “What happened?”

The boy, Momonosuke, scratched his head and looked at Tama with an apologetic gesture.

"I didn't mean to tackle you, I thought you were looking at me," he started, but she cut him off.

"Don't worry, Momo! Sorry Luffy, I just saw Doctor Law and wanted to say hi.”

Luffy got up and turned around in a funny way. Law thought it looked pretty much like a shampoo ad if his hair had been longer.

"Oh Torao!" He shouted, greeting him.

He didn’t want to get close so as not to interrupt. He raised a hand and greeted him without saying anything. Luffy looked back at the kids and looked to see if Tama had been hurt. He blew his whistle after inspecting her and they started walking towards him.

“Did you get hurt?” He asked, alarmed when Tama didn't come back to the game.

"Just a scrape." Tama showed her knee and Law leaned down to see it.

"I'll give you a band-aid and some disinfectant." He looked up to see Luffy. “Be right back.”

He opened the office again and disinfected the wound just in case. It was just a scratch but he had to follow the rules. It didn't seem like she was hurting and that was just fine. He covered the wound with a band-aid and they returned.

"Look, Luffy, it has bears!" Tama said happily, showing her coach the designs of the band-aid.

Luffy seemed almost as delighted as she was and Law thought he was capable of hurting himself to get one too.

Tama sat on the bench watching her friends' game and cheering when they made some impressive play.

"I didn't know you came on Fridays, Torao," Luffy said, still watching the game. “Ivan is always here.”

"He changed my shift because he has more hours at the clinic where he works." Law leaned back against the door frame, next to Luffy. “I usually see Zoro-ya on Thursdays.“

"Oh, the kendo workshop is great. I always want to participate, but Zoro won't let me use the katanas…” he exclaimed with a funny grimace.

"They're not really katanas, Luffy-ya." He couldn't help but laugh at Luffy's childish behavior, but that's the way it always was with him. “How is your wound? Did it hurt?”

The boy looked at his stomach and lifted the shirt to see the scar. He had a line left on his side, insignificant compared to the scar on his chest. He was completely healed.

"I'm perfect, it doesn't hurt."

"I could recommend you a scar cream," he suggested, thinking that the boy might not want to have another mark on his skin. He still felt a little responsible for that.

Luffy looked at him as if he had said something crazy.

"Are you crazy, Torao? It's a great scar! I'm collecting them,” the boy cheered, rearranging his clothes and smiling as if showing a war wound like a trophy.

Law smiled. He couldn't stop the feeling from pulling his lips up. He shook his head and took the worry out of his mind. Luffy was in perfect condition.

"Oh, I just remembered something!" The boy shouted and took his eyes off the game for a second. “On Sunday we will have a beach party to celebrate that Kaya, Usopp's girlfriend, is in town.”

He raised an eyebrow, not understanding what that had to do with him. He didn't know Usopp had a girlfriend either.

“Kaya lives in the country, in a town where Usopp was born. They have known each other since they were children and have a long distance relationship, or something like that. I didn’t quite get it, but the important thing is that she is coming to spend a few days and Usopp organized a welcome party on the beach to receive her.”

“On the beach?”

"Yes, Usopp told me to invite you. The guys can go too…”

Luffy was bad at remembering names, but Law knew he meant Penguin, Shachi and Bepo.

“Do you want to go?” Luffy asked, looking at him with an endearing smile.

"I don't like beaches, Luffy-ya..."

“But it's a party! Franky has a super beach tent, with chairs and shade. You don't even have to step on it if you don't want to.”

"The guys may have to go to the hospital to work."

If he was honest, he wasn't sure why he was refusing. He didn't really like the beach, the sun, the sand, but he didn't have a better alternative, either, like ten hours of uninterrupted work.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Luffy insisted. “You said you liked hiking..."

“In the woods, Luffy-ya, not on the city beach.”

"It's like the same thing! There will also be a campfire, meat and songs, you have to come.”

Law sighed, fed up with Luffy's insistence, but also without an excuse to back him up. Not that he hated the idea of going, but he used to avoid large gatherings of people and everything that involved the word party. Except that it was from the Kamabakka.

"Okay," he relented. “At what time is it?”

"It starts at four so we can get into the sea, but if you want to come later it's fine. Let the guys know, it will be great to go! Usopp liked them very much.”

His friends had a good time when they played the soccer game two months ago, too. It seemed so far away, especially with the Bellamy incident in the middle of it.

"I was thinking of going to Shirohige's to see Leo one of these days," he said without realizing it. He pulled out his phone and showed him the photo. “Ace sent it to me today.”

Luffy inspected the image and smiled at the happy boy.

"I'd like to go, too. I haven't seen Ace in a long time," he said, handing him his cell phone back. “Hey, hey, wait, foul for the red team!”

Luffy looked back at the boys and ran to the center of the court. He smiled watching him give directions, giggle with the kids, and drop to the ground when Tama said something that apparently made everyone laugh.

"Torao, do you want to play?" he heard him ask, half turned over.

He wrinkled his face and denied effusively.

"No thanks," he added, and was tempted to continue. “I'm going to make myself a coffee.”

His shift was over, he had nothing else to do there. However, the Kamabakka gave him that nice feeling in his chest of wanting to stay a while longer, even if he did nothing and was just sitting on the floor of the soccer field watching the boys play.

Although, if he was completely honest with himself, that was not the only reason he stayed.

.

.

.

As soon as he stepped on the sand, he felt he had made a mistake. It was no longer cold, the heat began to invade the environment and the air little by little. The good thing about being there was that it was not overwhelmingly hot because added to the beach it would have been unbearable for him.

It was impossible not to notice the group he was looking for. The noise could be heard from outside the beach. Loudspeakers, a megatent on the banks of the water and people running here and there.

“This is fantastic!” He heard Shachi say behind him, wearing his black sunglasses and swimming trunks, ready to jump into the water.

"Don't forget the sunscreen, Shachi," Bepo mentioned from behind with the tube in his hand, applying some on his already daubed skin.

He couldn't blame him, Bepo was too white and he cared a lot about taking care of his skin. Shachi should too, he was a doctor and he knew the effects of the sun. Penguin was on the midpoint, more relaxed but not sloppy either. He had already put on sunscreen before going out and walked with sunglasses but, compared to Shachi, he still was wearing a T-shirt.

Law renounced as he walked through the sand and held the chair he had brought tighter. Corazón had given it to him when he knew he was going to the beach, although he didn’t want to bring it.

"There is Usopp!" Shachi shouted, raising his hand as he turned around. He was accompanied by a blonde girl, his girlfriend Law supposed.

Shachi and Penguin stepped forward and greeted Usopp and Kaya, if he remembered correctly. When he and Bepo caught up with them, he lowered the chair to the ground and smiled gently at them.

"Wow, you really suit those shades Law," Usopp complimented him. “I don't think I've ever seen you so casual.”

It was true, because he never went to the beach or anything. Actually his daily outfit was the hospital gown. A few months ago, he started going out more, most of the time because of the Kamabakka —like Tama's fundraising party, excursions, and even outings with his coworkers— but he never went to the beach.

"She's my girlfriend, Kaya," he introduced her, looking at her with an endearing smile and she smiled at all four of them.

“Thanks for coming. Usopp surprised me with this party” Kaya looked happy, her face was pink, maybe because of the sun or because of the emotion.

“Welcome to the city, we hope you have a good time!” said Shachi with a smile.

“Where are you from?” Bepo asked, adjusting his bag and applying more sunscreen. “You're so white! Don't you want to put on sunscreen?”

Kaya laughed charmingly and denied saying she already had some on. She told them about the town where she and Usopp were from, a rural area far from the city. Usopp had learned the carpenter business with his father there, before moving out.

"Have they all arrived yet?" Law asked, looking behind his shoulders. He recognized Ivan out there. “Did Ivan and Jinbe come?”

"I invited everyone from the Kamabakka. Marco, Patty and Carne had work so they couldn't come.”

Marco worked at North Blue like them. He hadn't realized that for the four of them to be free that Sunday it was because other doctors were working those hours and Marco was one of them.

"Oh Torao!" The shout came from behind Usopp and he could make out Luffy running several meters back towards them. “Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, you came!”

Kaya opened her mouth in surprise and looked at him.

"Are you Torao?" Her huge eyes locked on him, and Law didn't know what to say. “I’ve heard lots about you!”

Usopp touched his head, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Luffy hadn’t yet caught up with them.

"I'm Law actually," he said seriously, but kindly. “Luffy-ya gave me that nickname.”

"Oh yes, it's true, he talks a lot about …”

"Good thing you came!" Luffy shouted when he finally arrived. He leaned on his knees breathing fast. “In the end I thought you weren't going to come.”

"Luffy!" Shachi said. “This is great, we couldn't miss it!”

Luffy laughed out loud and Usopp started walking with Kaya closer to the group. They followed them to the large gazebo that Franky had brought.

"Did Franky really made it?" Law asked in amazement. It had a wooden base where there were chairs and a table. “How did he manage to bring it?”

"He made it in his home workshop," Luffy told him excitedly. “And he came with his bus.”

"He has a bus?"

"Yes, he bought it almost destroyed in a junkyard and restored it. It took a few years, but it's like a little house. He and Robin travel a lot with it!”

He was slightly shocked to learn that he knew next to nothing about the people he worked with at the Kamabakka. After knowing that he had restored a bus, that gazebo didn’t seem so strange.

He left his chair on the wooden base and looked at the sea. Nami, Sanji and Zoro were around and greeted him too. Everyone seemed surprised to see him and got excited with their friends too. He didn't understand how they could love them so much, barely knowing them, but he didn't question it too much.

Luffy dragged him to the water's edge where they were playing a game of volleyball with a makeshift net. Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Vivi, Usopp, Kaya and Chopper were there. With his friends, he and Luffy completed two teams to play.

"Are things with you always like this?" Law said ironically. Luffy looked at him confused. “Always playing some sport.”

He saw him smile when he understood and rolled his eyes.

“It's more fun this way!”

They didn’t play much, the sand was difficult and Law was not in physical condition to stand as much as Luffy or Zoro who played their sports regularly. Nami and Chopper were also exhausted after a while.

He removed his shirt and left it on his deck chair. He had chosen his clothes well, the black shorts were breezy and now he was very hot after playing. Everyone else was the same, and the girls had their cool bathing suits or dresses.

"Wow, this got _hot_!" Nami yelled with a whistle and started to laugh when Law glared at her. “We didn't know you had more tattoos besides the one on your hands.”

"Oh," Usopp murmured in amazement, running his hand over his forehead to wipe off the sweat. “They are great, Law, they look great on you.”

"Would you like to get a tattoo, Usopp?" Kaya asked, looking at him in amazement.

"I don't know if so many," he laughed. “But I'd like one around my arm, like a bracelet.”

Usopp touched his forearm and showed the place to his girlfriend.

"That's a lot of ink," he heard from Zoro as he handed him a bottle of beer.

"No thanks." He pushed the bottle away and Zoro shrugged, taking it.

"They must have hurt a lot!" Chopper yelled, looking at his tattoos with fear.

"Not so much," he replied, looking at the little boy. “The chest part hurt more.”

"They're still very good, though," Usopp said. Luffy's laughter interrupted the conversation.

"Torao's tattoos are great!" He exclaimed, resting his arm on Usopp's shoulder.

Nami approached him with a beer in hand.

"Have you seen them before, Luffy?" The girl raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend.

"I saw them the other day, when I stayed over at his house!"

Okay. That sounded weird, would Luffy have noticed?

“Oh yeah?” Nami smiled and Law covered his face in embarrassment.

"Yeah, when he took off the ..."

“Luffy-ya, shut up," he snapped, turning around.

He sat down on the edge of the wooden base, sinking his feet into the sand. In the distance he saw Luffy laughing with Nami and the conversation of his tattoos seemed to be behind them.

Thank heavens.

"Good thing you came, Law." Ivan's voice slipped behind him and he turned around. He was sitting under the gazebo with Jinbe.

"I wasn't going to, but Luffy-already convinced me," he admitted with a smile. “How are you? Long time no see Jinbe.”

“I was working a lot, I couldn't attend the Kamabakka events.”

"But the other day I saw you at the Sekei Newscast giving an interview," Law commented, and Jinbe scratched his head.

“They called me to talk about contamination in the reserves.”

Jinbe was a good man and he liked him. The few times he had seen him they talked about various things, he was calm and very intelligent.

"Luffy said he invited you, but I thought you weren't coming," Jinbe mentioned.

"I think we underestimated the convincing power of our boy," Ivan started to laugh.

"Sometimes I forget that you are his godparents," Law laughed. “Luffy-ya has connections with everyone.”

Ivan laughed out loud and his husband looked at him with a warm smile, before glancing towards Luffy.

"His wound healed very quickly, didn't it?" Jinbe asked curiously and Law looked at him doubtfully.

"You are a great doctor, Law," Ivan said, and turned to see his husband. “He cured Luffy after the incident.”

"He got a scar either way," he added, turning his gaze to Luffy who jumped and played on the shore with Usopp and Chopper. The marks on his shirtless skin could be seen perfectly.

"He doesn't seem to mind," Jinbe said. “When we arrived he showed it to me happily.”

"He is a charming boy," Ivan replied, accompanying his husband's gaze. “He has us all in love.”

Law felt Ivan glance at him too intensely, but perhaps he was exaggerating.

“Torao, we’re going to the water!” Luffy yelled at him from the shore. “Do you want to come?”

He felt Ivan's hand behind him on his shoulder, pushing him forward and looked at him in surprise.

"Go on, don't worry about us. This old couple can have fun alone on the beach.”

He stumbled a few steps and walked the rest until he reached Luffy. His friends had gotten into the water too, Robin was standing on the shore, her feet on the sand, chatting with Sanji and laughing.

"Come on, come on," Luffy insisted and grabbed his arm.

Two strange things happened to him at that moment: he was surprised by the confidence with which Luffy moved with him, but more than anything, he was surprised not to be bothered by it and realized that Luffy had managed to get between his filters and alarms to deactivate the physical contact alerts. So now he could be touching him and he didn't feel bad about it.

They went into the sea and he realized that he had been hot playing volleyball because the water cooled him down a lot. Luffy had left him to jump on Zoro to annoy him while Nami threw water at Vivi and Usopp, who was carrying Kaya on his shoulders. The girl was laughing loudly, with an expression of complete happiness.

He felt a little infected with all that joy there. His own friends were laughing with Franky and trying to win a speed race. He began to relax and stop thinking about everything he saw. The beach was not the most comfortable place and he thought that those people were not either. Too cheery and loud. But he found a certain peace being there, contemplating that happiness that, he didn't know how, stuck with him too.

His eyes slid several times, although he tried to avoid it, towards Luffy, to his smiles and the cheerful gestures he made with his friends and he found himself smiling at the nonsense of that boy. Ivan's recent words still echoed in his head and gave him a panic he didn't know he had.

Although yes. He did know, but little by little he was beginning to see the light in his thoughts and was painfully aware of those emotions.

Luffy met his gaze and smiled, swimming towards his place with his loud, carefree laugh.

"Torao, you're smiling!" He said, throwing water in his face.

Law covered himself, but there was nothing he could do with his smile.

"It's a nice day," he said to avoid having to answer something more serious. Luffy didn't notice it anyway.

“Boys!” Nami shouted behind them. “We’re going to eat something, want some?

The mere mention of food caused Luffy to dash toward shore and Law smiled rolling his eyes, but he came out of the sea too.

The afternoon had fallen, when they arrived it was six o'clock and now that the sun was beginning to go down, he saw Franky set fire to a small grill. Had he also made it? That man was amazing. He would start going to his carpentry shop too.

There was food and Luffy stood by the grill staring with wide eyes. It was funny. With the sun disappearing, it began to get cold and Law was not the only one to get dressed again. Franky and Sanji, the food handlers, handed out the meat sandwiches. Law handed the bread to Luffy, who looked at him expectantly as soon as they had given him the food.

There were also snacks and rustic potatoes cut into sticks to grab. There was hardly anyone now that it was so late and on that part of the beach there were only them. Franky grabbed his guitar and sang with Brook, who had been in the shade most of the day. He was an old man, he understood that he had to take care of himself, although sometimes he thought that Brook was more jovial than he was.

Usopp and Kaya were missing, he supposed they would be having some alone time, walking on the beach. Law realized that the scene had become romantic even in the same group. Ivan and Jinbe ate off to the side, talking quietly and laughing. Robin accompanied Franky, singing with a smile on her lips. Nami and Vivi had sat on the ground with their feet on the sand. Vivi's head was resting on Nami's shoulder. Even Zoro and Sanji shared food near the grill.

His friends were standing, eating and singing, almost hugging each other. Bepo was the calmest and smiled at seeing them so happy. It was a good idea to have brought them together with the Kamabakka, he never thought that they would get along so well.

He grabbed a bottle of water from a cooler filled with drinks that seemed to be Jinbe’s and walked across the sand toward the shore. That's how he liked the beach. Almost empty, with fresh wind on his face and cold water on his feet. It felt good and the air was pure and refreshing. The sand didn't bother him as much anymore.

He felt footsteps in the background and didn't have to guess who it would be. He had been playing with him all day long. All those months, actually. With glances, gestures, giving him a blind confidence and even dragging him to follies that he never would have done. It was obvious that he would be there to end that.

He knew that Luffy was there because what was happening to them was undeniable. And the boy was not slow when he wanted something.

"Torao, what are you doing here?" He asked, coming to stand beside him. Law didn’t stop looking at the water.

"Nothing, it's nice to breathe the sea air."

"I thought you didn't like it," Luffy said in surprise and Law smiled, looking down at him a little.

"It's different at night, it's calmer." Luffy's eyes were bright with the reflection of the moon and the water. “Why did you come, Luffy-ya?”

He couldn't help but slide his eyes over the boy's face and watch his lips tremble. Maybe his question was too straightforward, he didn't want to sound like that either. He was also afraid and didn’t want to talk about it head on.

"I just didn't see you anywhere," he replied quickly. Law smiled softly, removing that burden from the air. “You had fun today?”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t want to question him and returned to watch the sea.

"I would have regretted it if I didn't come," he said simply and kept a hand on his shorts. “What about you?”

“It was incredible! I love coming to the beach and also Usopp is very happy with Kaya, I love seeing him happy!”

That boy, so full of good feelings, of wishes full of light, with his overflowing energy, his logic without logic, and his touches that removed every sane thought, disarmed him.

He completely disarmed him, as if he were naked in the sea and could do nothing against that unstoppable force. A few months ago he thought of him as a sea with waves of recklessness and a hypnotizing tranquility, but at the same time as a storm that could break everything in his path. And that day he felt he had been right.

"I had a good time, too," he said, looking at him and discovering that Luffy was watching the sea too. That black sea that the moon could barely make out. That sea that now reminded him of Luffy. “Thanks for inviting me Luffy-ya.”

He saw him turn his face and look him in the eye. He noted some doubt, which surprised him. The boy was unruly and demanding, he always took what he wanted and never doubted. Why did he seem so hesitant right now?

He felt something warm in his hand, the one he didn't have put in his pocket, and he tensed. It was warm and soft, but also big and strong.

Luffy's hand.

He slowly turned his face to look at their clasped hands, how Luffy had gripped his in a warm, soft grip. Luffy was no longer looking at him, but had his eyes fixed on that dark sea.

He shuddered, but decided to ignore it and accompany that silence. He moved his hand slowly, very calmly, until he intertwined his fingers with Luffy's. He didn't know why he did it, but he couldn't use the excuse that he did it without thinking.

Luffy tightened his grip in surprise and held on better, as if telling him he wasn't going to let go. Law smiled at that idea.

"Thanks for coming, Torao," Luffy replied. He hadn't expected him to say anything else, but it was good.

They didn’t speak about what was happening there, what was hidden behind the words and actions. It wasn’t necessary. They both knew it and decided not to put it into words because their joined hands had.

And yes, Law had that panic hidden in his chest, wanting to explode at the contact he felt so intimate, but he managed to chase it away. Even for a little while he wanted to enjoy that warm and wonderful feeling.

He wanted to enjoy that sun-flavored sea on his skin and let himself be swept away by the storm that Luffy caused inside him.


	12. The Heart

He opened his eyes startled. He was sweaty and his heart was beating very fast. A nightmare had awakened him early again. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and saw that it was five in the morning.

He had to get up at six, but now he couldn't sleep again. It was always like this when he woke up from nightmares. That night had been the memory of his days in drug treatment, when he had just moved in with Corazon.

He remembered being in someone else's bed, with those arms, always too hot, hugging him tightly. He shook his head and got up. He didn't like it when his memories of that time came back as a nightmare.

He took a quick shower and made himself a black coffee to stay awake enough and remedy the lack of sleep. He turned on the television and left Grey's Anatomy in the background. It was still dark and it was almost an hour until he had to go to North Blue.

He thought back to his eighteen years, the hours he spent in the rehab group, the long sleepless nights —that hadn't changed much— and the even worse days of abstinence, with nausea, vomiting, and anxiety.

It was a hard time, but he managed to survive because of two people. Corazón was one. And the other ... well, he didn't remember him that much, despite having been important to him at that time. But Law hadn’t been in the right mindset to face a human connection that required so much commitment at the time.

He squeezed the mug in his hands and snuggled up on the couch. Why did he remember this now? It had been a long time since he had thought or dreamed about it. Did it have to do with what was happening with Luffy, who stirred his feelings about the past? He had no idea, but he wanted to stop feeling so helpless in the face of something that had happened so many years ago and couldn't control.

He spent the hour there, feeling small on the sofa, covered with a blanket and with his eyes lost, unable to concentrate on that episode he had seen so many times. When his cell phone rang with the alarm at six, he flinched. He still had a while until he had to leave, but he was surprised that he had been engrossed for so long.

He rubbed his face hard and put the mug down on the counter. He finished dressing and grooming himself in front of the bathroom mirror. As he went down in the elevator he looked at his cell phone and was surprised to see a message from Luffy. Two days had passed since the beach party and they didn’t talk again. Luffy didn’t write to him and Law, who was not the one who usually started the conversations, did not do it either.

[09/22 03:04 am] Luffy: Torao, look at this photo Nami took of us

📷 Photo

When he saw it he was horrified. They were both in the sand, it was night and they were alone on the shore. He knew when it had been, when they clasped hands and he shuddered at the thought. Why had Nami taken that photo? Luckily their hands couldn’t really be seen, only that they were side by side looking at the sea.

[09/22 03:04 am] Luffy: I thought it was cute

She also got some from Usopp and Kaya

And some funny ones from Zoro.

📷 Photos

He checked the images and smiled when he saw Usopp's gaze that seemed absolutely delighted to have his girlfriend there. He imagined that a long distance relationship would be difficult, but what did he know about relationships?

Seriously, what did he know about it? His only relationship had been short and strange, at his worst moment of emotional stability, probably. He had nothing to compare it to. Was Luffy perhaps a relationship? What was that thing he had with that restless boy who texted him at three in the morning?

He didn’t answer and preferred to put his phone away and work all day without thinking about it, neither his dream nor relationships.

.

.

.

He woke up screaming. His body ached and he was sweaty again. His hands gripped the sheet and he realized he was shaking, too. It was three in the morning according to his phone and he wanted to get up to have some water.

Why was he suddenly so afraid?

He walked with trembling steps to the kitchen, but as soon as he left the room he felt dizzy and his knees failed him. Then he understood it.

He was having a panic attack.

It had been years since he had one; since he felt that anxiety. He was twenty the last time he had one. At that time he was finishing his treatment and he was almost ‘recovered’ but sometimes those anxiety attacks seized him. He didn't understand why he was feeling that way now.

His line of thought was cut off when a strong nausea forced him to run to the bathroom. He clung to the toilet and vomited what he had eaten before going to bed. His head began to throb from the action and he stood there for several minutes. When he felt more stable, he fell back against the bathroom door and hugged his knees tight. The cold floor didn’t bother him and he tried to inhale several times.

He told himself that he was going to be able to get through it. This had happened before, he had been in worse situations and he really didn't have a reason to be like this.

He didn't have it, did he?

The past month had been very turbulent. Bellamy, the memory of Doflamingo, Corazón, the judicial bureaucracy, the children they used as dealers. Luffy's wound. Everything reminded him of the past, the face of that man telling him that he had done well, that he was the best seller in his group.

He shook his head. He didn't want that image. He didn't want to think about Doflamingo.

Nor in that other man, who occasionally slipped into his memories and now everything was mixed. The sensations he had experienced in that boy's bed, the warmth of his body and the sheets on his skin came to his mind with unstoppable force.

He didn't deserve to be next to his memories of Doflamingo and Bellamy, he had never done anything wrong to him. On the contrary. But it had happened at that same time and he was too imbricated at his worst. Gagging interrupted his thoughts and made him vomit again.

When he was able to return to bed, he covered himself up to his neck and didn’t come out until noon. Luckily he didn’t have to work and did not reply to any messages. He hardly even looked at the phone.

It had been days since he had answered Luffy. And he kept sending him nonsense.

His head ached terribly, but he didn't even want to take ibuprofen. He had become very paranoid after rehabilitation and even more as a doctor.

About one o'clock in the afternoon he finally fell asleep again.

And in his dreams, Doflamingo, Bellamy, him and Luffy mixed.

.

.

.

He wanted to cook that day and stop eating canned meals or pre-made ramen. He put a fish on the grill and took a glass while looking at the messages on his cell phone.

> [09/26 20:38 am] Cora-san: I'm close to your apartment, do you want me to come see you?

He leaned against the kitchen counter and answered with a smile. Corazón had a great instinct to text him when he felt bad. He didn't know how he did it, was it a father's instinct? He wanted to see him, another of his abilities was to make him feel good when he was sad. He pulled one more fish out of the freezer for him and thought about making some onigiri as well.

Those last few days had been difficult. Even his friends noticed the change in his attitude. He had been told that the previous months they had seen him happy and that he now seemed exhausted and tired. He didn’t sleep well, he got up sweating and nauseated. As if he was having the same panic attacks he had when he was eighteen, when Corazón had to go to his room and help him breathe properly.

His head was killing him and the insomnia was out of control. It was logical that everyone would notice the changes to his behavior. Especially that sea and storm boy to whom he had not responded for almost a week. Luffy also stopped texting him and on Friday had stopped by his office at the Kamabakka. They spoke very little because Law was attending to a girl and when his shift ended, he hurried out as fast as he could, avoiding the boy who was starting his soccer class at that hour.

 _Did your cell phone break?_ Luffy had asked him and the doubt in his always so happy voice made him feel very bad about himself. He could only tell him a silly excuse, that he was too busy for the week and couldn't answer anybody's messages.

Yeah sure. Busy throwing up in the toilet.

The apartment bell woke him up and he turned off the fire. His fish was almost burned. Corazón would clearly notice his lack of attention.

"Law!" His father shouted when he went downstairs to meet him. The huge man, Law no longer knew how tall he was, hugged him and made him small on his chest. “How have you been?”

Law laughed softly, trying to hide the dark circles under his eyes and concentrating on how glad he was to see him. Corazón going to his apartment was a unique event. It always seemed too cold for him. Maybe he decided to take a chance now that winter was over. Anyway, he took care of making the ambient warm.

"Wow, it's warm here," he mentioned as soon as he entered. “Did you do it for me?”

"You were coming for once and I'm not going to make you freeze to death," he said sarcastically. He went back to the kitchen to continue preparing the food. “I have grilled fish and onigiri, as always.”

Corazón giggled as he took off his bag and hung it on the coat hanger by the door. He went to the kitchen with him and sat down on the small island bench.

“How have you been these days?” He heard him ask and tensed, though he managed to hide it.

"The dark circles are still there, so I'm not sleeping better. That's for sure.” He tried to be funny, but Corazón knew him so well and knew all his tricks to divert and hide information.

"I think those dark circles are more pronounced," he teased. “Have you been working too much?”

He passed him a plate and poured some juice as he prepared the meal. His father was difficult to evade, especially with him. He knew how to read him too well and it was worrying.

"It was a stressful week, but luckily it ended."

The food distracted him from the subject and Law sighed. The fish and onigiri tasted very good; he congratulated himself internally, although Corazón put it into words. They talked about Sengoku, he told him that he went on a trip to the countryside with Garp, _your friend Luffy's grandfather_ , Corazón reminded him, and told him they had bought sweets and souvenirs for the whole family.

"He told me they fought over a T-shirt at a craft fair. Apparently they wanted the same, but in the end a woman bought it while they discussed who was taking it.” He started to laugh and Law thought it was a funny thing to imagine. “In the end they had to ask for others. Sengoku brought you one with a sea lion and Garp bought Luffy one with a monkey. They sent me photos and everything, do you want to see?”

Law opened his eyes, impressed and denied. _Make it a surprise_ , he said with a forced smile. He didn't want to wear almost twin shirts with Luffy.

"It seems he bought some for his other grandchildren too, but I don't remember the animals of theirs."

When the meal was over, they moved to the sofa and Law turned on the television. They were showing Bizarre E.R. at H&H and he left it in the background while they drank something hot. The night was chilly, even though spring had definitely extended its domain.

"I can feel you’re a bit down, are you sure you're okay, Law?"

He bit his lip and raised his legs on the couch to look at his father. Did it make sense to hide something from the man who could _feel everything_ about him?

"I had a bad week, that's all," he tried to apologize. His hands gripped the hot mug and he took it to avoid speaking.

"Since you were a boy, you always did that." Corazón moved closer to him and reached up to caress his hair tenderly. “You fold back on yourself and build walls. But you know you don't have to hide from me. I want to be your refuge, there where nothing can harm you.”

His lips trembled as he tried to hold that knot in his chest. He should have known that there was no point in hiding from him, after all, only two words from Corazón were enough to knock down his walls. Living alone had made him forget that talent of his.

"I think ..." His hands tightened on the pants he was wearing and he looked at Corazón feeling torn, "Maybe I had a panic attack a few days ago."

Corazón opened his eyes in surprise and Law wanted to calm him down.

"It wasn't serious, I controlled it myself and I was fine. I just had a bad week because of that.”

"Law, how could you not tell me? It doesn't matter if it's serious or not, but you don't have to go through this alone.”

"I didn't want to worry you," he sighed, feeling overwhelmed, and Corazón took one of his hands lovingly.

“You are my son, I care about what happens to you, and more if it is this. What else was happening to you?”

He told him. Because there was no point in keeping the secret when it did him good to speak. To say it out loud, have someone listen to it. And Corazón was silent and looked at him intently as he revealed what he had been feeling during the week. Vomiting, anxiety and fear. Everything.

"But was it just like that? All of the sudden?" He asked when he finished speaking. He shook his head.

"I think there's a reason," he said quietly and avoided looking at him. “And I feel so stupid about that, I can't believe such a thing throws me so off balance.”

"Don't say that, don't be cruel to yourself. It does not matter if it seems silly to you, if it affects you, it is important to you and you have to talk about it.”

He snorted and bit his lip. He had no way of running away from there.

"Last Sunday I went to the beach to a party of ... the guys from the Kamabakka." Corazón was already looking at him amazed because of the beach part. “They were all there and also Luffy, Garp's grandson.”

His father nodded, encouraging him to continue. Law swallowed hard. He was having a hard time admitting it.

"I had a good time, I really like them all, even if they are very noisy, but ..." The look full of confidence and love that his father gave him was enough reason to say it, but his fear was admitting it out loud and turning it real, “I had a… _moment_ with someone.”

"Moment? What do you mean?" He asked with a frown.

"I think I may have _feelings_ for someone," the phrase said with a bit of disgust, as if the word and he didn't get along well.

Corazón widened his eyes, impressed and Law rolled his. God, he was already regretting it.

"Oh, you like someone! That's normal. Tell me, who is?”

Please, he was twenty-seven, not thirteen, why was he behaving like this?

"If you don't calm down, I won't tell you," he threatened with a serious gesture. Corazón tried to calm his anxiety. “It's ... Luffy. Garp's grandson.”

Everything his father promised was forgotten when Law said Luffy's name, because he saw him cover his mouth with both hands and open his eyes enormously.

“Luffy!!” He yelled in a whisper.

“Cora-san! Don't make me regret saying it.”

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he tried to apologize. “It's just ... I can't believe it, the boy seems so different from you.”

"Garp and Sengoku are friends and yet they're opposites," Law said, not knowing why he was clarifying it anyway.

"Oh, we all know that Sengoku is a repressed Garp."

His mouth pursed as he tried not to laugh. Corazón saying that about his own father was too hilarious and he expelled a liberating laugh that released all the worries and regrets he had had over the last week.

"Anyway," Corazón continued. “I didn't mean it was weird or impossible, but I thought you had a hard time getting along with people so loud and happy. You have enough with me and your friends. Luffy is like that to the tenth power.”

He kept laughing because it was true. Luffy was unruly, as if he had all the energy that Law didn’t, and clearly he was very different from him, but...

"We are also similar in other aspects," he added, his gaze lost at some point. “He told me about his childhood and although it was not the same, he has things ... that I can understand perfectly.”

He shook his head and looked at Corazón. He didn't even know what he said.

"Is this why you were like this all week?" He asked gently. “You don't like what you feel?”

"I don't know," he admitted lost. “My relationships with people have always been complex. Even with you. Do you remember that I didn't like you when we met? “

They both laughed, sharing that old memory of when Law was a boy and still didn't know what being part of the Donquixote family was about.

"And then ... Well, my relationship with Kid wasn't particularly good."

"He wasn't bad, but you were both going through a difficult time," Corazón added.

Eustass Kid. He still remembered. A big, red-haired boy with a big scar on his face. He was a complicated person to deal with but they had reached a certain point of understanding that… well. Law didn't define it as a couple, but it did get close.

"I'm a little confused by that. I thought people weren't going to get so deep inside me anymore.” He touched his chest with his hand and sighed. “I was used to you and the boys, but Luffy ... is a different level of trust and commitment. It gets into your skin without you realizing it and that ... it's a little scary.”

Corazón smiled as if he understood. He always did. He looked at him with the eyes of a father, a friend, the one who was there or understands how he feels.

"How about you make an appointment with the therapist? Do you remember when you were going?"

He frowned. His time at the psychologist was accompanied by the psychiatrist and antidepressants, in addition to treatment to keep himself clean. It was not a good memory, precisely.

"I know what you're thinking," Corazón added, looking at him with narrow eyes. “I'm not talking about taking pills again or anything. Just going to the therapist again. It is the place for you to tell this if you don't want to reveal the details to me. It did you good at the time. Think about it, okay?”

He sighed wearily. The conversation had left him exhausted, but perhaps it made sense to reconsider what Corazón had told him. It wouldn't hurt to go, even if , in the back of his mind, it felt a little like going backwards.

But it wasn't and he knew it. As a health professional, he was aware better than anyone that mental health was as important as physical health, if not more. And if he was so overwhelmed, there was no point in enduring that alone, without being able to talk about it.

He didn't feel stable enough to resume contact with Luffy again. That touch on the beach had ruined his life in a matter of seconds; when he realized how much he cared about that boy and when he admitted to himself that it was undeniable how much he was beginning to love him.

Once he tidied himself up a bit, he could get back to his emotions, and maybe, if Luffy was still there, he could do better.

.

.

.

At two in the morning he woke up. It was not a nightmare or a feeling of suffocation, as their awakenings had been in recent days. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. Perhaps the presence of his father sleeping next to him helped calm the anxiety.

He was a little disappointed in not being able to handle that on his own and needing Corazón like when he was eighteen and sleeping with him on his worst nights. But instantly he remembered that the part of him that wanted to control everything was the one who went crazy when there was something out of place and the main responsible for his attacks. After all, his crisis had to do with not being able to give himself entirely to that feeling towards Luffy and the possibility, overwhelmingly concrete, that Luffy felt the same way.

He made a hot coffee while looking at the cell phone for nothing. Luffy hadn't written to him for a few days, when it became clear that Law wasn't responding as usual and that if he could avoid him, he will. What would he think? After that Sunday full of sun and smiles where they held hands and he felt like a teenager again, Luffy surely believed that something between them had changed. And then Law decided to disappear for a week, leave his own head and avoid social contact even with the people of the Kamabakka. Luffy would be at least bewildered.

He had to accept that Corazón was right. He couldn't handle his head, and if he continued like this it was evident that many of his nights would be in the company of the toilet. He didn't want to go back to that. He had achieved stability and had made an armor that protected him from the world. Perhaps now he was beginning to wonder if it had been the best choice. His protective wall was broken, Luffy had passed through it and looked him in the eyes like no one had not looked at him for a long time.

The problem was, he didn't know how to react to the broken wall and low defenses. And perhaps all those years of therapy in his youth were not for him to build an unflappable coat, but to learn to trust again. To let more people into his life and accept that things can and should be out of his control.

He sighed in frustration. It was hard to accept that, but he also didn't want to live in crisis whenever something came up that he couldn't control. Luffy was not a thing, he was someone who had done him good since he met him, why couldn't he just enjoy his company?

> [09/27 03:13 am] Trafalgar Law: Hi Luffy-ya, how are you?
> 
> Excuse me for not writing to you these days. It was a really tough week.

He wasn't surprised to see that the boy was online and smiled when he saw him write. Luffy was very nocturnal even though he didn't seem like it. He liked to go to bed late, and that was one of the reasons they had started talking often. They shared the same time slot.

> [09/27 03:14 am] Luffy: Torao!
> 
> Hello,
> 
> are you okay? Do you need to talk to someone?

He smiled at the boy's charm. His words were always sincere and kind. It was so rare to receive them knowing what he felt. Before, being with Luffy intrigued him, amused him and also seemed endearing. But now he was aware of how much it had taken root in his veins and it was rare to read it that way.

> [09/27 03:16 am] Trafalgar Law: Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.
> 
> I just wanted to thank you for being there listening to me multiple times.
> 
> [09/27 03:18 am] Luffy: What are you saying, Torao
> 
> You don't have to thank me for anything
> 
> You are my friend, you do these things for the people you love

Luffy seemed so carefree when it came to sharing with those he considered friends. He had seen him be like this countless times in very silly detail. He was always doing things for the others, jeopardizing his own safety, being impulsive and determined.

He noticed it when he saw him with Tama in his arms, trying to leave the burning house. Also when he played soccer and refereed for everyone to have fun and no one was hurt. Or when he let his nose be broken to protect a child. And especially when he accompanied him to break into the house of a drug dealer to rescue some boys and take a bullet for him.

> [09/27 03:21 am] Trafalgar Law: I am not an easy person to deal with.
> 
> But somehow, with you...
> 
> it worked.
> 
> [09/27 03:22 am] Luffy: I like that
> 
> I was worried this week, but Zoro advised me not to chase you
> 
> He said that when you were ready, you would come
> 
> [09/27 03:15 am] Trafalgar Law: Zoro-ya is very smart.
> 
> I don't think I'm ready yet.
> 
> But I didn't want to stay with the feeling that I was hurting you.
> 
> [09/27 03:13 am] Luffy: You don't, Torao. I understand you.
> 
> I'm not very patient in general, but I can wait.
> 
> I don't mind doing it for you.

He put the phone down on the island counter and looked at his mug. They were talking almost for the first time without hindrance, though they didn't say clearly what was happening to both of them, but Law felt that Luffy knew it. He was not an idiot as many believed. Or maybe he was, but when it came to perceiving the feelings of others, Luffy was very good. At last he put the mug in the fridge for when he woke up and went back to bed.

“Something happened?” Corazón murmured, his voice hoarse and tangled.

Law ducked into the covers and softly denied.

"I got up in the bathroom, let's go back to sleep."

Corazón fell silent and heard him lay his head against the pillow, but still felt awake.

“Are you ok?” He asked quietly.

"Yeah, don't worry." He didn't know why he was whispering, as if someone was going to wake up when they were both awake. “Thanks for staying.”

He saw him smile in the darkness of the room and the gesture spread to him.

"I'm your father, Law," he heard him say. “I will always stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks like the relationship took a step back, but I swear it didn’t. It has to do with the perspective I chose to write Law and how I think he is. Although this should be seen in the fanfic and I would not have to explain it (if I am not doing something wrong) I want to talk about it and it is my fanfic, nobody can stop me (? Hahahaha.
> 
> For me Law is a character who suffered many losses throughout his life. That made him nervous, hysterical, and controlling. But not a sexy Christian Gray controlling (although sometimes it's fun and sexy to write him that way) but the kind of person who controls everything he feels and tries to repress any emotion that is out of ‘ordinary’ for him. To Law control is the lid of the large boiling pot that are his feelings. And the problem with Luffy is that he is the one who uncovered the pot and now everything is overflowing. Law has to go through this process. He has to suffer, he has to cry (go to therapy also if he needs to) and feel the pain he is trying to cover. Only by going through the pains that he repressed will he be ready to be able to love. And Luffy is going to be there, waiting for him. I promise you.


	13. The One Way Road

Corazón decided to settle in his apartment for a few days. At first he had said it was because they were fixing his house, but Law laughed and cut him off. No need to lie to stay with him. He also wanted to have him there. 

It was nice to come back from work and see his father having a coffee while watching a Criminal Minds episode. The only thing that Law prohibited him was cooking, cutting vegetables and turning on the oven. Corazón wasn't born for housework. Perhaps his vocation for plants was the only thing he mastered. Although several times he cut himself with thorns and tools and Law had to attend to him.

Contrary to what he thought, having his father at home was very comforting. It didn't make him feel childish, like he'd gone back. He really liked to share with him, stay up late watching bad cable movies on the couch, or count his foreign coins in the jar that decorated his coffee table. It was only five days, but he enjoyed them as if they were years. It made him think that he had to go to his house more often and stay the night.

They talked a lot too. Corazón told him things about Doflamingo that he didn't know, situations he had to go through when they were still living together. He heard everything, even saw him cry and it was really mobilizing. During his youth he had never shown him weakness, he stayed strong for him, so that Law continued in his treatment. He never cried in front of him. Although he didn't like to see him like this, he felt that he was finally seeing the reactions that Corazón couldn't have at that moment and support him.

Corazón was still accompanying Leo and the other boys in the statements before the court. After the raid on Bellamy the evidence was damning. Law and Luffy would go as plaintiffs and had to appear for citations later. He hoped to have his feelings with Luffy solved by that time because he couldn't be going around the same thing with something so important on top of it.

His father left the apartment that same afternoon but his presence was permeated everywhere. Law had never seen him put on perfume, but he always left all rooms filled with a sweet scent, as if he had his botanical garden on his skin. He smiled thinking about it while cooking something. He had asked Sanji for a recipe to make a good homemade ramen without having to buy it premade and he was proud of the result. It tasted really good for now.

He put the phone down on a tall cookie jar and put on a medical documentary while trying to follow the steps of the handwritten recipe quickly. The notification window constantly appeared and covered the video. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but from what he read, his friends were complaining about their boss. The director of North Blue was a well-known doctor, an eminence in the field of medicine. Law liked her and admired her a lot, but he knew that she was very demanding and that not everyone could keep up with her.

He wiped his hands on a rag and took the cell phone to check the messages.

> [01/10 08:04 pm] Penguin: I missed Marco today, he always calms Kureha when she gets mad at us.
> 
> [10/01 08:04 pm] Shachi: Don't you guys ship them?
> 
> [10/01 08:05 pm] Penguin: Oh, Shachi, what do you say? ha ha
> 
> [10/01 08:05 pm] Bepo: Marco is married!
> 
> Kureha too, her husband is Dr. Hiruluk from the oncology department.
> 
> [01/10 08:06 pm] Penguin: Marco is married?
> 
> [10/01 08:06 pm] Shachi: That man is a mystery
> 
> [10/10 08:06 pm] Penguin: How do you know that, Bepo?
> 
> [10/05 08:06 pm] Bepo: I thought I saw him with a woman one day on the way out of the hospital.

He laughed looking at the conversation of his friends. When they were in the breakroom of the North Blue they always tried to guess what life was like behind their coworkers, especially those who seemed so far away, like Dr. Kureha.

They knew that Marco was her right hand and the one she trusted the most in his department. Marco had been a student of hers when she was a professor at medical university. Law attended her class of general medicine, but Kureha was no longer the teacher and only gave the first and last classes to all the students.

> [01/10 08:08 pm] Trafalgar Law: Stop complaining and enjoy that you got off work.
> 
> [10/01 08:08 pm] Bepo: Law !! We miss you today
> 
> Tomorrow is it your turn?
> 
> [10/01 08:09 pm] Trafalgar Law: Yes, Kureha changed my schedule for a scheduled surgery.
> 
> [10/01 08:09 pm] Penguin: What are you doing, Law?
> 
> [10/01 08:10 pm] Trafalgar Law: I was cooking
> 
> Sanji-ya gave me a ramen recipe.
> 
> [10/01 08:10 pm] Shachi: omg
> 
> I need to see that. 

He smiled trying to take a photo of his kitchen and all the display he had made.

> [10/10 08:13 pm] Trafalgar Law: 📷 Photo
> 
> If you want, on the weekend you can come have supper.
> 
> I don’t promise to cook.
> 
> [10/01 08:13 pm] Bepo: Yay!
> 
> [10/01 08:13 pm] Penguin: Really???
> 
> [10/01 08:14 pm] Trafalgar Law: How exaggerated.
> 
> You have come many times to my house.
> 
> [10/01 08:15 PM] Shachi: Lately you've been a little...
> 
> distant.
> 
> [10/01 08:15 pm] Trafalgar Law: I know
> 
> But I'm better now.
> 
> Thanks for being there.
> 
> [10/01 08:16 pm] Bepo: We are happy for you to come back, Law
> 
> [10/01 08:16 pm] Penguin: We love you
> 
> [10/01 08:17 pm] Shachi: Don't overcook the ramen!

He bit his lips with a sideways smile as he read the messages. He felt too lucky at the time, because those four fools, of whom he complained many times, were his support network that during adolescence and the entire period of college, kept him contained and on track.

As he was writing to them, a notification popped up showing him a message. It was Luffy. He stared at the screen, thinking that they hadn't written to each other again since that night nearly a week ago when they briefly chatted in the early morning.

> [01/10 08:20 pm] Luffy: Torao!
> 
> I know I said that it would not bother you so much, but
> 
> I am close to your house, I came to buy something that Sabo sent me for near your place.
> 
> Do you mind if I step by?
> 
> I can come back if you don't want to!
> 
> but ...
> 
> I miss you.

He covered his face with one hand and snorted. Luffy didn't know about patience, he had told him before. Five days had been too long for him. But Law felt better and in a good mood. And he missed him too. 

> [01/10 08:20 pm] Trafalgar Law: Luffy-ya
> 
> I'm at home making ramen
> 
> Bring something to drink.

He bit his lips when he saw him respond with an astonished sticker and couldn't help but laugh. He put the phone down and continued to prepare food because now he had to do a little more. What was on about the people he liked always coming over when he was cooking? Maybe his life was about adding one more plate to the table when he thought it would just be him.

It was not a bad idea.

He got a little nervous. He had seen Luffy very little since the beach party. They crossed paths at the Kamabakka but didn’t talk much and he respected his time without sending messages. That was the first time.

And it had made him a little happy.

Luffy warned him by message and when he was on the other side of the door in front of the building's porch, he felt his heart beat very fast. Uncertainty and his own desires were mixed all the time. The tranquility that seeing him gave him and the revolution that it caused in him. The sea and the storm.

He opened the door and Luffy's gaze met his. The boy had his red backpack slung over one shoulder and a light jean jacket. Luffy didn't smile instantly, though he could see from his eyes that he wanted to.

"Hello," Law said, clearing his throat. “How are you?”

And Luffy smiled. The corners of his lips dragged upward, as if a thread were pulling them, showing him his true expression.

"Hello, Torao," he greeted him as he entered in front of him. “I'm fine, I came to look for something that Sabo bought online. I think it's a new microphone or a recorder, I don't know very well.”

They went up the elevator while Luffy told him about his brothers. He remained silent, enjoying the boy's incessant talk. He would not admit that he had also missed it.

"Mmm, it smells delicious!" He retorted as soon as they entered the apartment. “I brought juice!”

He pulled out a bottle of juice and Law put it in his fridge. He smiled when he saw how excited Luffy was about the food. Such a Luffy thing.

"I asked Sanji-ya for the recipe."

“Really? Sanji is amazing!” Luffy settled around the kitchen, almost over his pot and staring at the ramen insistently.

"It won't cook any faster because you look at it like that," Law teased with a mocking smile. “Prepare the table if you want, It’s done.”

"Then my gaze did help!"

He served the dishes and they prepared to eat on the kitchen counter. Law had two pretty bowls where he served and Luffy seemed about to devour it.

"God, this is delicious."

"Credits to Sanji-ya”

"Don't be silly," Luffy cut him off smiling. “These are your doctor's hands being a cook. Credits to Torao!”

He covered his mouth to laugh as Luffy fooled around with the ramen and his words. He felt as if a great weight, which he had been carrying for days, had fallen from his shoulders, leaving him light. He was light, calm. Clear. Like a calm sea that drifted him, in search of the next adventure.

That was one of Luffy's sea qualities, to reassure him and make him see how happy he was with him.

"How were you these days?" He dared to ask and watched the boy's reactions.

"I had an exam and a essay. Sabo helped me study and I almost failed, but in the end I passed.” He said it as a great victory and he thought it was funny to see him like that.

When he went to college, scraping by his exams seemed mediocre. But Luffy was happy and it was a great achievement for him. It made him feel pretentious with his old demands, like he didn't understand what was really important, that it was more than just a qualification.

"I see you were busy," he mentioned, smiling. 

“And you?” Luffy asked with a hint of doubt. “I mean, what were you doing this week?”

“A lot of work and I was also with Cora-san. He stayed a few days here.”

Luffy widened his eyes and smiled. He seemed happy.

"That is incredible, Torao! Cora-san is great.”

Ever since Bellamy's network was dismantled, Luffy had been amazed by Corazón. Everything he knew about him and when they saw each other later because of Leo, made him take it as an idol. Maybe like that strange traveler Luffy met when he lived at Gray Terminal.

Dinner went on quickly because Luffy devoured his plate and what was left as if it were nothing. He suggested watching television and they both moved to the sofa, where they were more comfortable. He didn't feel tense like he thought he would be at first. It was natural and pleasant to share that space with him. It was no strange. Luffy felt like he was _from there._

"Oh god, Terminator is on, don't change!" Luffy shouted when he saw him zapping.

"It's a lousy movie, Luffy-ya…”

“The first one is incredible, what are you saying!" He took the remote off him and returned to the channel where the film was being shown. “I loved this movie when I was a kid. Dadan let us watch TV as much as we wanted and always put it on when they were showing it.”

He laughed as he imagined a little Luffy fighting with his brothers to monopolize television and then the three dazed with the Terminator saying his iconic phrases.

"What did you watch as a boy, Torao?"

“Mmm we watched many series with Cora-san, but that was when I was older.”

"When you moved in together, right?" Luffy asked with a hand on his chin.

"Wow, such a great memory..." He saw him roll his eyes and smiled.

"I don't forget important things, Torao," he retorted. “You told me you moved in with him when you were...”

“Eighteen,” he completed. “When we escaped from Doflamingo.”

Luffy put his legs up on the couch and leaned against the armrest, looking at Law closely.

"You told me you had your bad time there, right?" Law could almost see him putting a puzzle of his life together in his head and he thought it was funny.

“A little, yes.”

In the background, the television showed the Terminator running away with Sarah and John Connor in a typical car chase that was relegated at the time. Luffy looked at him with a soft and sincere smile, as if urging him to continue.

"You know what's next, Luffy-ya," he said quickly, looking at him puzzled.

"Yes, yes, depression, darkness, terror ... tell me about it!"

He stared at him in silence for a few seconds until he burst out with a silly laugh. He covered his mouth with his hoodie’s sleeve. Luffy's comments were hilarious and many times puzzled him, but on those occasions they caused him a genuine laugh that relaxed him. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and smiled at the boy sitting across from him.

"Not much to say, really," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Luffy approached him, as if he wanted to share the same space to hear him talk about his past.

"I don't care much about people's pasts, but when you told me yours, I related a little," he admitted, and Law bit his lip.

"Yes, the same thing happened to me," he said, looking at him. “We had very different childhoods. Despite living in a house full of luxuries like Doflamingo's, I was not happy. And you, who lived in an emergency neighborhood with all the difficulties that this entails, had a much happier and more joyous childhood.”

Luffy nodded, looking at him closely.

"But I think we both ended up thinking the same way because we're in the Kamabakka for the same reasons," Luffy mused. “I feel like we went down different but similar paths that at some moment met at a point.”

"We draw the same conclusions from two different situations..."

"Exactly!" Luffy exclaimed with a big smile.

He saw him lean against the back of the sofa and watch the movie that was already in its final phase. The Terminator, Sarah and Jon were at the factory where all their movies used to end. 

"I always cried at the end," Luffy told him, staring at the television. “When the Terminator raises his thumb.”

He laughed a little teasingly but Luffy was serious. In that small, almost inconsequential anecdote, he was giving him a scene from his childhood that seemed to mean much more than the film itself.

He turned to look at those final moments as well. The light from the screen illuminated them in the middle of the dark apartment and the late night. He was absorbed by that 90s aesthetic and Luffy's company for a few moments in silence. A subtle touch brought him back to reality. 

Luffy had laid his head on his shoulder, carefully and calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Without questioning it. Law couldn't help but tense up, feel absurdly exposed. Luffy noticed it and backed away instantly. He bit the inside of his cheek in regret. It had ruined the construction of a relaxed atmosphere.

"Don't be nervous, Torao," Luffy said, surprising him. His voice was low, he seemed to want to keep the moment and not break that calm. “I ... I'm not going to bother you.”

"You don't bother me, Luffy-ya," he said quickly.

"But I don't want to force you to reciprocate my way of being."

He could notice Luffy's conflict too. He didn't seem used to waiting or being patient with others. From the moment he met him, it became clear to him that he was the type of boy who went for what he wanted without giving place for a no as an answer. Far from authoritarian, Luffy achieved his goals with his charming personality and natural ability to understand the feelings of others.

However, he could see that it was different with him. Luffy understood him and wanted to give him his space because he was looking for something _different._ It was obvious that he was not comfortable either and that he was trying his best not to go overboard.

"You don't, I'm sorry." He turned to look him in the eye and tried to put his thoughts in order. “I've already told you that I'm not an easy person. It's hard for me to let other people into my life and you arrived in a strange way.”

He remembered when he met Luffy. It had seemed odd to finally meet this boy that everyone described as crazy, charming and energetic. Luffy was almost a legend among his acquaintances and several months later, he could understand why. 

Law was not used to letting new people into his daily life, much less the way Luffy got in. The soccer boy practically threw himself out of a broken window and took over the place as if taking a house, forcing him to retreat until he felt suffocated.

But now he has adapted to that invading presence and was ready to sit down with him to establish the rules of coexistence.

"Besides, you're not like my friends or my dad," Law continued without taking his eyes off Luffy. “It was hard for me to realize, last week was proof of that, because ... the way we bonded brought me problems to understand our relationship.”

Luffy blinked as if he didn't quite understand what he wanted to say. Law knew he wasn't being entirely forward. He didn't expect the conversation to happen that way, not so soon. He had not been able to think what to say or how. He didn't even know they were going to have that talk.

"I don't understand, Torao." Luffy put into words what his gaze already denoted. "What do you feel for me?”

Direct. Very Luffy’s style. He looked at his legs and rested his hands on his knees. He took a deep breath.

"Lots of things," he admitted without looking at him, but forced himself to do it to find his reactions. “So many that I couldn't realize it instantly and I had a hard time admitting it.”

Luffy was watching him intently, seemed to understand his words, or at least his paratextual language. He could see his pupils follow his every movement with his hands and his body.

"It never happened to you before?" He asked curiously. He saw him raise his legs again on the couch and hug them.

"Once," he admitted, and he could feel Luffy's surprise. “When I was eighteen.”

The boy smiled enormously and Law raised an intrigued eyebrow.

“Why do you make that face?”

"Because a little while ago I asked you about that moment," Luffy replied with a self-sufficient gesture. “I knew there was something there that you didn't tell me about!”

He laughed stunned and shook his head.

"You didn't know," he said for sure. Luffy laughed out loud.

"But there was something there, I realized that."

"Shut up, do you want me to tell you or not?"

He gestured as if his lips were sealed and Law rolled his eyes.

"It was a long time ago, while in rehab." Luffy seemed to want to ask him a lot of questions and it was so funny to see him hold back. “I befriended a boy who was there too. We got along pretty bad at first. He was a bit of a bully.”

Again he remembered Eustass Kid. The red-haired boy with his expression of having gone through the nine hells. He knew every scar and trauma to Law’s body and soul and managed to connect with him beyond friendship and the feeling of physical attraction.

“But one day after leaving the rehab group I saw him fighting with some boys. I thought he was up to something wrong and ignored it, but I saw that there was a child on the ground that the thugs wanted to hit.” The images of that event seemed distant and almost like a film, but he remembered them vividly. “He was alone against three and I decided to join in because ... I also didn’t tolerate acting like this against a child.”

At that moment he thought of his sister. That girl who did not grow up nor could she become an adult, whose dreams and hopes were dashed from a very young age. And he thought he would have liked someone to defend her if they attacked her.

"He had been injured and I couldn't leave after seeing him," he continued to tell. “Between the two of us we scared them away and helped the child. From there on we became friends and over time... a little more.”

"Were you two dating?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I think so," he mused aloud, because it was something that was unclear even years later. “We were close, we understood each other. We were going through similar things. He had been raised in a difficult situation. He lived in another very poor neighborhood, his father was imprisoned as a trafficker and his mother was an addict. He had been consuming since he was ten.”

Luffy didn't seem surprised. He knew the situations that could happen in the poorest neighborhoods. He had lived there and had friends at Gray Terminal for years. Many boys grew up in contexts of consumption and in families with multiple problems, with very vulnerable living conditions. Kid had been one of them, one who tried to get out of that state and seek treatment voluntarily.

"He lived alone in a room he rented in a boarding house," he continued to tell him. “Cora-san met him and got him a security job in the offices where he was working at the time. He was a boy, but he started having his money there and left the house.”

Corazón was kind to everyone, but especially considering the complicated situations some people had been through. Law never really knew, but he suspected that his father saw in Kid a possible future for Law and wanted to help him. He knew the kind of relationship he had with him and that motivated him even more.

“He fell into consumption a few times, but always got out. He was constantly going into rehab farms and kept going to the group with me,” he continued. “With the money from his work, he managed to be better. We were ... together a year or a little more.”

“And what happened?”

He bit his lip and remembered. Nothing serious. But it was still painful.

"We were both troublesome. We understood each other but we also had great fights. It was a bad time for both of us, full of fear and panic attacks. His mother left the rehabilitation center where she had been admitted and he wanted to take care of her. He didn't want to leave her abandoned. It seemed noble to me and I understood it.”

He remembered when Kid told him. When they got together in their studio apartment, small and old but much better than that ramshackle room at the boarding house. It was the day of the breakup and he accepted it.

"He told me that he would go with his mother to another country. That he had gotten a better job. He knew a lot about mechanics, he could fix cars and motorcycles without having any studies. He got a job through a contact from the office where Cora-san worked. They would pay him well and he wanted to take his mother away from the city where his father was imprisoned. He left and I accepted it.”

Luffy watched him closely, following every expression and word. Law was out of breath talking. It wasn't a memory that hurt now. A lot had happened and he was never clear if they were boyfriends or not, but he could not deny that Kid was important to him.”

"You never saw him again?"

“I heard about him from Cora-san's friend who was still in contact with him. He said he was fine and that he had a son. I was very surprised, but I was glad.”

“Do you like men?” Luffy asked suddenly, looking at him with utter seriousness. Law smirked and shrugged.

“Who knows? I'm not really sure,” he replied, looking up into the air. “After him, I was neither with anyone else not interested.”

At that time he read a lot about sexuality, trying to understand what his feelings were. When he started studying medicine he became obsessed with understanding all aspects of humanity, considering sexuality as one of them. Then he understood that there was no point in trying to find a category that would define him, because he would always feel overwhelmed by those walls that pretended to be a structure.

"I don't know either," Luffy mentioned. “I never asked myself, you're the first person I like in that way.”

Law was stunned and silent. Luffy didn't seem to realize what made him react like that, as if his words were not at all strange. As if he hadn't literally told him that he liked her.

"Weren’t you… never attracted to anyone?" He managed to say, clearing his throat and feeling very silly. Luffy denied.

“According to Nami and Usopp they say that I am asexual, but I never understood that well.”

"Asexuality is supposed to imply a lack of sexual attraction to another," he tried to explain. “But there are so many grays and sub-genres. There are asexual people who have sex with their partners and enjoy it. It just is not something that they seek or that is predominant in their lives.”

"How do you know so much about this, Torao?" Luffy asked dazedly. “I don't know if I feel that way, but it could be.”

"I read a lot about sexuality after dating Eustass-ya," he mentioned with a nostalgic smile. “Asexuality does not mean that you do not fall in love or can’t have a strong romantic bond or that you do not have sex, but that it is not central or important.”

"Well, I think that's how I feel, then."

"But I said the same thing as before, Luffy-ya." He couldn't help but laugh at the boy's puzzled face.

“And you, what are you?”

He rested his hand against his chin and thought.

"I find it hard to think that a category defines what I think is particular in each one," he replied, staring at some point in the room, thinking. “But within everything I would say that what comes closest to me is demisexuality.”

Luffy raised his eyebrows and looked at him as if he had said an unknown dictionary word. He laughed at his face and saw him pout angrily.

"Basically it means you feel sexual attraction once a deep emotional bond has been created," he explained slowly. “It is what I feel that most describes my way of being in that regard.”

"It's all very complicated, Torao!" The boy shouted and Law had to laugh because he looked like a boy throwing a tantrum because he didn’t understand homework. “Isn't it easier to just do what you want with who you want?”

He was silent, because it was kind of what he thought. Luffy was not a fool. He had another way of understanding the world and relationships and had already shown it to him infinitely many times.

“I think the same, but it helped many people find what they like and what they feel comfortable with in a world that assumes that heterosexuality is the norm.”

"So you think I'm asexual and that?" He asked curiously. 

“If I have to use the categories I would say that you are asexual demiromantic, although that only you know.”

Luffy covered his face and gestured with his hand to dismiss the idea.

"Forget it, doesn’t matter what I am," he retorted, laughing, because he was already amused. “It doesn't matter what you are either. We only matter, right now, being well together, right?”

He smirked, because it was true. There was no point in over-thinking or investigating the reasons or denying those feelings. He couldn't anymore. Now it was time to close his eyes and let himself be swept away by that sea.


	14. The Broken Wall

The apartment was dark. The television turned off. The only light was from an orange lamp in his room, which enhanced Luffy's skin color more vividly. It looked golden.

They had moved to his bed when it got late. He invited him to stay for the night and didn’t offer him the sofa again. It didn't make sense anymore anyway. Luffy lay on his stomach, feet up like a child who can't stay still, elbows on the bed. 

Law was on his side, watching in fascination as the lights played with his skin and the deep black color of his eyes. Luffy talked about a lot of things that he was trying to follow. The conversation about sexuality was interrupted and resumed several times. He still didn't understand and Law no longer explained. It wasn't important, either.

"And what do you think Kid was?" Luffy asked. As always, curious.

"We talked about it once and he said he was bisexual." When he met Luffy's gaze he rolled his eyes. “Sexual attraction for both genders.”

"Oh," he whispered but Law knew he hadn't heard at all. “Were you never interested in anyone else?”

Law thought about it. After Eustass Kid he focused a lot on studying. He barely let Shachi, Penguin and Bepo enter his life, but he never again opened up to a relationship like that, one involved so much trust and dedication.

Well. Up until now. 

"I didn't allow myself to care for people so much again," he answered thoughtfully.

“But why? Having important people is the best!” He retorted in surprise. “It means that you have many friends who love you and that you love.”

That was very typical of Luffy. To collect all the love you could receive and more.

"It's hard for me, Luffy-ya. I don't like being around people, or being the center of attention. I prefer not being bothered and go unnoticed. In my teenage years I was very anxious about that.”

"When were you dating Kid?"

He nodded remembering those moments. They were difficult years, not only because of Kid.

“Yes. We were both in rehab and we had moments of great anxiety, withdrawal, panic attacks. That's why it was difficult to have… a relationship or whatever.”

Luffy rested his head on his crossed hands and kept moving his legs. He seemed to still have a lot of energy.

"And this week?" He asked suddenly. “You told me it was hard, did you feel bad?”

He considered whether or not he should tell him, he wasn't sure. They were difficult days and the reason had to do with him. But he could be honest, he already felt a bit naked after telling him so much.

"I had… an episode a few days ago, a panic attack," he finally told him. “I woke up after a nightmare.”

Luffy widened his eyes in surprise. He seemed genuinely affected by that and Law knew what the boy must be thinking.

"It wasn't your fault," he insisted to calm him down. “Some time ago I felt that it was difficult to control my emotions and this week it just piled up too much.”

The boy fell silent and looked at him carefully. He knew he wasn't thinking what to say, because Luffy never did that, but he was giving him the space to continue.

"Cora-san was here for a few days, accompanied me and made me feel better," he continued with a small smile. “He convinced me to go back to therapy.”

"Did you go before?"

"Yeah, when I was in rehab. At that moment Cora-san made an appointment for me with the psychiatrist, I took antidepressants and went to therapy.” Luffy seemed absorbed in his words, perhaps surprised to learn more about that part of his life. “Now he suggested that I come back and it might be a good idea.”

"And do you have to take pills again?" He asked in a low voice, almost muttering. Law denied.

"The psychologist can't prescribe that for you, Luffy-ya."

He watched him remain silent for a while and wanted to know what he was thinking. Luffy was indecipherable most of the time, surprising and intriguing. He never knew what he was going to do or say.

"I… thought I was good for you," he said after a few seconds. Law looked at him with a frown. “You always looked sad or tired. I thought I could make you have fun, open up with me. I didn't want to ruin it.”

He bit her lip and looked up at the white ceiling. The orange tones colored the entire room as if it were an artificial sunset.

He hadn’t known him for a long time and yet he knew that this attitude was very typical of him: empathizing with someone who feels bad and trying to find an alternative that makes him feel better. Luffy carried heavy responsibilities on his shoulders.

"You have done me no harm," he clarified with assurance. “Your… existence put a lot of things on my face that I had not resolved and that I struggle with.”

Luffy regained his dreamy smile and Law reciprocated that gesture.

"Do you miss Kid?" He asked after a few silent moments.

Law thought about it. Not that he didn't have an answer, but he wanted to try to fully understand it.

"No," he resolved. “At that time I was so bad that I didn't have time to miss him. And I covered all of that with college, anxiety, and treatment.”

He held it back for a long time. At the age of twenty he had his last panic attack and now he could trace that the anguish was coming from there. Kid had been gone for a year but it was only then that he could show it.

"I mourn my grief and it didn't hurt anymore," he mentioned, looking closely at the reflection of the light in his window. “Eight years have passed since that, it is a healed wound.”

Luffy pondered the information silently and Law also saw him get lost in the orange tones on the pillowcase. He didn't say anything for a long time and Law thought he was going to fall asleep sooner.

"You went through a lot, Torao," he finally said. “I can't change the past and I don't really care, so I'm happy to have met you.”

His throat went dry and he felt a lump. Luffy was so carefree with his words and had no qualms about saying what he felt without barriers. All the opposite of him, who hid and covered his feelings. Luffy undressed them, illuminating him with the possibility of doing the same; stop putting up with so much.

"Me too," he said with a smile.

Luffy looked at him with his huge, shiny eyes. There was a question in them that Law wasn't sure he could figure out. Or maybe yes, but he didn't want to risk misinterpreting it. He looked at him with doubt and at the same time with an enormous confidence that shook him.

The clock on his nightstand was striking five in the morning. A flick of light began to filter through the window, interrupting the artificial dusk in the room. Luffy's black eyes shone like two deep wells that invited him to do _something_ and Law didn't know how to answer.

He watched him move in slow motion. First stand up, crossing his hands over Law's chest, and then lean down and rest his head on his arms. He was looking at him from that comfortable place on his chest and he felt helpless, but also infinitely warm.

He raised his hand and didn't think much about it. He stroked a lock of hair that wanted to rebel against the rest of Luffy's hair. With that boy everything was about going against the current. He always thought that he had to follow a straight path, without looking to the sides, without taking detours. But now Luffy showed him that living between detours and cuts, going out and coming in different ways, was a fuller and freer life.

The contact made the soccer boy smile and seeing it made him happy in a way unknown until that moment. Luffy lifted his face from his hands and leaned closer to him. Sharing the gaze so closely was a new and vibrant experience. His eyes calmed his anxiety, they calmed him.

Luffy tilted his face and Law closed his eyes. It was not premeditated nor did it take him by surprise. It was the reaction to that moment, a single second where he realized what was going to happen and gave himself absolutely to it.

He felt Luffy's lips and thought they were soft and warm, as if his entire body gave off a comforting warmth. It vaguely reminded him of the sun on cold days, when it suddenly appeared in the sky and caressed his skin.

His hand grabbed onto Luffy's waist, because he was sure that if he didn't hold onto it he was going to fall. It was an extremely strange sensation to fall while already lying down, but there was a vertigo parked in his bones that made him believe that this sensation was real.

Luffy never dated anyone nor did he like anyone in particular. Law was the first person he shared that contact with, wishing it in a different way and he couldn't be more moved by it. Not because he thought he was special, not because he cared to brag about being the one who caused that in Luffy. No. What he felt was a genuine and deep connection between the two of them.

From the beginning there was chemistry, an interaction that transcended all they had had up to that moment. Not because it was better, but because it was different in every way. They had understood each other from the first contact. And even if they didn't know it, they had longed for each other ever since.

He guided his mouth gently, trying not to be rough. He hadn't kissed in years and he didn't know if Luffy had done it before either. He bit his lower lip carefully and heard him gasp in surprise. They had time for everything. When the boy's eager tongue made its appearance, they had already let their lips meet for a while. Law reciprocated that contact and clung closer to the body above him, sprawled chaotically on his bed.

Luffy's hands were on his chest and shoulders, holding there to stand tall over Law. He felt him smile between those kisses and it seemed like a surreal moment. Luffy broke away first and looked at him, the smile reaching up to his eyes because the glow in his black pupils lit up the entire room. His lips were pink and he licked them gently.

"I didn't know I wanted this until it happened," he admitted laughing. Law couldn't help but laugh with him.

Luffy buried his face in his chest trying to cut off his laugh, but it was impossible. They laughed until they were choking with joy as the six o'clock sun was fully present.

He saw him lift his face and rest his chin on Law's chest, looking at him with red cheeks from laughing so much and a smile of happiness on his face. Maybe he looked like that too. He never thought it could feel so good to laugh until his stomach ached and he couldn't breathe. Luffy seemed to know the healing powers of laughter better because he was looking at him as if seeking to tempt him again.

"You're a one way road," Law murmured, shaking his head. "And I've already traveled too far to go back."

.

.

.

When he opened his eyes, his face tickled. The alarm was ringing in annoyance and was drilling into his head. He reached up and reached for the phone to shut it down. He couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much he wanted to stay there, in that warm and soft place.

He hadn't had bad dreams or woken up anxious and scared. Perhaps it was even more torturous to get up like this, being so comfortable in that place that he would have to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luffy's body lying against him. The boy moved too much while he slept, almost as if he were awake and he pushed him several times to the corner of the bed. His hair tickled his nose and his arms were spread out on the sheets.

"Luffy-ya," he murmured hoarsely. He rubbed his own face with one hand and sighed heavily as he reached out with the other to shake the boy by the shoulder. “Wake up, Luffy-ya.”

He heard a pout and complaints but didn't see him open his eyes. Law sat up on the bed and clutched his own head with one hand. Not sleeping much was always characteristic of him, but he had never felt this dead before waking up. He had gotten used to that feeling but that night he had slept so well that he couldn’t conceive waking up at all.

"Luffy-ya," he lunged in his attempts to make him open his eyes and smiled when he saw him fling his hands into the air as if shooing away a fly. “It's already eleven o'clock, didn't you say you had classes?”

The boy grunted and began to wake up lethargic. He first brought a hand to his face and rubbed it.

"I want to sleep more, Torao," he grunted in the husky voice of the morning. “Please, I was so comfortable.”

"Don't you want breakfast?" He asked with a smirk and the boy rose like a spring with his stomach roaring like a dragon. He laughed at him. “You are so basic, Luffy-ya.”

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say, I'm not seeing my breakfast..."

He stretched his body when he could get up and grabbed some clothes. He had to go to the bathroom first and then he would think about what to cook. There was no bread in his house, so he would have to go for something more traditional.

When he came out of the bathroom he felt much more awake. He had already put on the clothes he wore under his doctor's gown. He let Luffy occupy the bathroom and he opened his fridge wondering what to make. He ended up deciding on rice with an egg on top, an omelet, and some takoyaki that he had in the freezer.

Luffy sat on the counter and gaped at Law's display. He rolled his eyes because he could almost feel his drool and laughed as he put the rice in and handed it to him in a bowl with the egg. Luffy began to devour it instantly.

"God, you're terrible," he scoffed, watching him eat like crazy.

When he finished making everything else, he sat down with him and handed him more food.

"Wow, Torao, I didn't know you cooked so well."

"It offends me that you say that, you've been here before and I've cooked for you," he replied with an angry grin and Luffy laughed.

"Well, this is something else. It's a great breakfast!”

He smiled watching him eat. He seemed comfortable with that and thought that this scene was domestic and banal, but endearing. He remembered what happened during the early morning and couldn't help looking down at his rice. He wasn't ashamed, but it still stirred up a lot of things he was trying to understand.

Luffy was considerate and didn't bring it up, although he supposed it was, also, because nothing strange had happened to him and he took it more naturally. He saw him with rice stuck to his mouth and sneered as Luffy tried to lick it.

He didn't have much else to think about. It felt good, period.

Reaching that conclusion was like taking a load off his shoulders. There was nothing to think about, to analyze, to suppress. Luffy kissed him and with that he told him that it was okay to feel what he felt.

"What is it, Torao?" The boy asked and his face had a very funny expression.

"You've got rice all over the place, you're a mess." He threw a napkin at him to get it cleaned properly, but Luffy was too messy and chaotic by nature.

When they finished eating breakfast, Law put on his robe and looked at Luffy.

"Do you want me to drop you off at your house?" He asked, thinking that maybe the boy had to go somewhere else.

"Yes, I have to find my books there and leave Sabo his recorder."

"You have classes, right?"

He nodded and hung up his backpack ready to go. Law grabbed his keys and cell phone and they went down the elevator. He decided to use his car to drive Luffy home and they went to the parking lot of the building.

Luffy was listening to some voice messages with the phone to his ear while Law drove and made that familiar road home again.

"The fair is on the weekend," Luffy said on the phone, recording a voice message. “The entry is a contribution or non-perishable food. It's at Shirohige's, according to Ace it has a huge park.”

He frowned because he wasn't sure what the boy was talking about or to whom. When he cut the recording he asked if it was about the Kamabakka. He was afraid he had missed something in that dark week he had had.

"It's a fair to raise money for Shirohige's household, I was talking to the boys."

"This weekend?"

"Yes, do you want to come with me?" He asked looking at his cell phone and saw him press to record a voice message. "Ace, I want two tickets to the fair, I'll go with Torao!”

Law raised an eyebrow but kept looking down the street.

"Won't you wait for my answer? Maybe I had to go to work…"

"Do you have to work?" Luffy asked seriously.

"No, but…"

"Then you also want to."

The radiant smile at his audacity dislodged him but he didn’t go against him. He had learned that there was no point going against that sea.

"Do I have to bring non-perishable food?" 

"Either that or pay the entrance fee, but it's a contribution so I thought we could do both."

"I agree." Law entered Luffy's neighborhood and looked for his house looking at the map on his own cell phone. “Are your friends going?”

"Yes! We talked about it the other day, when we left the Kamabakka and went for a beer.”

It must have been one of those days when Law was depressed at home or trying to save his father's hand when he wanted to cook for him.

"I missed you that day," Luffy spoke suddenly, smiling softly and looked at him waiting for a reaction. Law didn't know what to say to him.

He carefully parked in front of Luffy's door, but the boy didn't get out.

"Every day, actually," he added. “It's not the same without you.”

"You were without me most of your life in the Kamabakka, Luffy-ya," Law murmured, looking at him skeptically.

"But now I know you, Torao," he said, rolling his eyes as if he didn't understand anything.

He laughed and the memory of that moment in the early morning, when they laughed so hard it hurt their stomachs, came back to his mind with force. Luffy was smiling too, as if he knew. He surely knew.

"I'm not going to disappear like these days." He felt the need to clarify that, especially to him. “So you will not have to miss anything.”

Luffy took his backpack and got ready to leave. He couldn't help tensing up, thinking that he would come over to kiss him. He still had a hard time showing those signs of affection, but finally he got out of the car and turned around.

He saw him standing on the sidewalk, the sun over his head and the red backpack slung over one shoulder. His smile rivaled the spring weather and his disheveled hair sparkled. He smiled at him and the boy did too. Luffy took a few steps and leaned over the car window, looking at him again like the night before.

He finally caught his lips and Law didn't panic or tense up. He let his hand gently caress his cheek, basking in the warmth of his skin. When they parted ways, Luffy looked even more radiant.

"See you later, Torao," he yelled, walking away, his hand raised, being the usual Luffy.

He started the car toward North Blue with a burning sensation in his gut. That of having been exposed to the light after a long time hidden in the shadows. That of navigating aimlessly in a calm and adventurous sea.

The walls had been broken, on the other side there was a huge sun waiting for him. And he wanted to go there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the chapter was going to be part of the previous chapter, but it was too long so that's why it was separated. I hope you enjoyed the moment and liked the slow burn between the two of them. I have been waiting for this chapter since I started uploading this fanfic ♥. Now only good things remain...


	15. The Looks

Shirohige's home was big. A large old but well-maintained house and a large and well-kept park. According to Ace, the oldman Shirohige lived there in his childhood and when his parents died he adapted the place and quickly began the procedures that formally turned it into a foster home.

All the workers who lived there had formal jobs, like Ace who, according to what Luffy told him, was a manager at the Sabaody luxury hotel because he knew several languages. Marco was also part of Shirohige's team, but he didn’t live at the home because of his various jobs. 

He walked past the wooden stalls selling food, handicrafts made by the kids, and other things created at the home. He was waiting for Luffy, who hadn't arrived yet. The boy had bought tickets for the two of them, but he went in anyway because he had brought some food packages. 

"Law!" He heard the cry of a girl and turned around when he saw Tama running towards him.

"How are you, Tama?" The girl smiled happily when he looked at her.

“Well well! Are you looking at the things we made?” She pointed to a hat on the stand. “I made this one.”

He took it carefully and looked at it closely. It was a woven straw hat, like those worn by peasants who harvested rice.

"It's very cute, can I buy it?" He asked, leaning a little to look at her. Tama blushed excitedly and nodded energetically. “I'll take it.”

The boy who manned the booth, one of the household coordinators, took his money and wrapped his hat, but Law let Tama put it on him. 

"Is Leo around here?" He asked the smiling girl who looked at him excited to see him with his creation.

"Yes, there he is! Leo!" 

The boy was playing in the middle of the park and ran towards them when he saw Law.

"Law, you came!" He shouted excitedly and showed him the same happiness as Tama. “Luffy and the others?”

"They haven't come yet, but they shouldn't be long."

"That's Tama's hat! It's great!" He retorted in amazement. Tama laughed contently. “I also crafted something.”

"Oh, which ones?" Leo pointed to a sewn scarf and Law took it. It was very soft. 

“Tama taught me to sew and I got very good at it, it makes me feel relaxed.”

The threads of the scarf were soft and parted. It was knitted with two needles and was one of those ‘infinity’ scarfs, which wrapped around one's neck in two rounds. He liked it’s yellow color and decided to buy it too. 

"But I'm not wearing it now because it's hot," he told the boy who was happy to see him with his garment anyway. “Do you like Shirohige's home?”

Leo smirked, walking alongside Tama and Law as they went through the other stalls.

"Yeah, it's nice to be here," the boy said. “Everyone is nice, we have game afternoons, there is food every day. Shirohige is great and we play soccer with Ace sometimes.”

He raised an eyebrow with a smile. Tama nodded to everything with equal enthusiasm. Those guys seemed very fanatical about football, because many of them went to the Kamabakka to Luffy's team. Not to mention those sports fanatic brothers.

He stopped in front of a food stand and looked at the delicacies that the home coordinators had prepared. According to Luffy, Sanji had also wanted to help. There were some skewers with dango and also takoyaki. He figured Luffy would like that.

"Do you want something to eat?" He asked the children and they seemed pleased. He bought two dango skewers and also takoyaki for Luffy.

“Toraooo!” The shout came from the door of the home and Law turned around with a smile when he saw Luffy advance towards him.

It was surprising how the soccer boy appeared whenever there was food involved.

"Hi, Luffy-ya, I thought you were going to come earlier," he mentioned with a mocking smile.

Luffy scratched his head and smiled.

"Oh yeah, sorry, Sabo was a bit late," he said, laughing. In the background, he saw Luffy's brother talking to Ace and smiled. “Hello, Tama, Leo! How are you?”

Luffy hugged the two children and they seemed happy to reciprocate his affection. Leo had adjusted well although he still tensed at the contact. He knew that it was not easy. Leo would have to go his own way to learn to accept a touch normally.

It kind of reminded him of himself.

“Torao, that hat was made by Tama, right?” Luffy raised his hands and touched the straw fabric with a smile. “At home I have one, they are great.”

Tama looked embarrassed but very pleased.

"I also bought a scarf from Leo." Law showed him the fabric and Luffy looked amazed.

"It's amazing! I want one!"

"I made them in various colors! There's a red one that would suit you, Luffy,” Leo commented and the boy took him by the arm to run like crazy to the booth. Tama accompanied them and Law had no choice but to follow them. 

Luffy bought Leo's scarf and put it around his neck despite the hot weather.

"It's very soft!" He murmured with a smile. 

"Tama, Sabo wants to see you!" Ace's voice sounded behind them.

When they turned around, Tama was already throwing herself into his arms. Sabo patted the girl's head and Leo also seemed pleased.

"Law, is Mr. Rosinante coming today?" The boy asked with a hopeful expression.

Mr. Rosinante was a funny way of calling his father. Law knew that was his name, but he had gotten used to calling him Cora-san years ago.

"Yes, he’ll come later," he replied, smiling.

Leo celebrated and stayed with them for a while until he returned with the rest of his friends. He was happy to have seen him, he wanted to stop by more often. He could see how happy it made him to be there and to see those children.

“Torao, what were you doing before I arrived?”

Law handed him the cardboard with the takoyaki balls and Luffy seemed to drool.

"I bought some stuff, I thought you would be hungry."

"You're great," the boy retorted with adoration for the food tattooed in his eyes. He took one of the chopsticks and poked a takoyaki. “It's delicious! Eat too, Torao!”

"Wow, you are sharing the food with me, is that a proposal, perhaps?"

"What a drama queen," he said, cheeks full of takoyaki. 

Law put one in his mouth and smiled. It really was tasty. 

"It’s been years since they’ve been this good," Luffy said suddenly and Law followed his gaze to his brothers.

Ace and Sabo were in a corner of the park; Tama had returned to playing with the children. He saw them hug, for no reason, they just seemed to do it because they wanted to, perhaps trusting that no one would see them.

"Have you noticed it before or just now?" 

Luffy shrugged but kept looking at them. There was a smile on his face.

"I heard Sabo talk late in his room for several days. I thought he was on calls with his friends, I make them sometimes too, but Tama told me today that Ace also talked until dawn on the phone in the garden.”

Luffy's siblings were talking closely and laughing. They both had a bright smile on their faces. That family smile, Law thought, he'd seen on Luffy. Sabo took Ace by the arm, naturally and they walked through the stalls to the entrance of the house. 

"I suppose they have settled all their differences, don't you think?" He asked the soccer boy, who looked back happily.

"I'm really happy." Law couldn't help but smile at his words. He looked happy and he felt all kinds of things seeing him that way. “I hope they never fight again.”

Luffy's friends came up behind them and surprised them. Zoro, Nami, Vivi, Usopp and Sanji, who was wearing an apron and seemed to come from cooking, appeared with purchases and food in their hands.

“Hello guys!” Luffy was glad to see them. “Oh, you bought crafts too!”

"This one was made by Momonosuke," Nami mentioned, showing him a necklace with inscriptions, it looked old-fashioned with hieroglyphics. “I bought one for Vivi too.”

The girl showed them hers which was blue and matched Nami's orange one. Zoro had also bought a hat from Tama. Luffy had told him that Zoro was also close to the girl.

"The takoyaki is delicious," Luffy said, putting the last one in his mouth. Sanji smirked.

"The cooks here do a great job. I was helping a bit and the food came out really well.”

"I heard some music is going to be played later," Usopp mentioned. “Hope Franky and Robin get on time.”

"Brook and his guys at the music workshop put together something for today," Vivi added. “They asked me to sing with them.”

“Cute!” Nami hugged her girlfriend by the shoulders and smiled. “And speaking of cute, congratulations, Law!”

He raised an eyebrow without understanding and Luffy began to laugh softly. 

“Why?” He asked, surprised. They all smiled knowingly, as if they knew something he didn't.

"Because you are dating Luffy!" The redhead retorted with a mocking smile.

Law felt his blood run cold and looked at the boy questioningly. Luffy shrugged his shoulders and concentrated on continuing to eat Usopp's dangos without him noticing.

"Yeah, it's super adorable!" Vivi commented with a charming smile.

"About time," Zoro said.

"I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier…" 

He looked at Sanji without understanding why he said that. Earlier? Did they think about them earlier?

"Actually they all mean we're happy for you," Usopp tried with an apologetic smile.

Law looked at the boy and tugged on his hoodie like he was a puppy.

"I'm borrowing Luffy-ya for a second," he snapped, dragging him toward an empty spot in the garden.

Luffy followed, choking on the dangos like there was no tomorrow until Law stopped.

"Did you tell them we're dating?" He asked, looking at him seriously. Luffy seemed unrepentant, as if he hadn't done anything.

"Yes, today before we come," he said casually and Law felt one eye twitch.

“Why?”

Luffy looked at him blankly, as if he couldn't conceive of the questions he was asking.

"Because we are, why else?"

"We never talked about that, Luffy-ya," Law snapped wearily. Luffy looked at him with a frown.

"We said we hadn’t liked anyone the way we like each other. We kissed. I thought it was clear,” he replied innocently. “You don’t want to?”

Law was silent. He didn't have a real answer and really, didn't he want to? Luffy was right. They had talked about what they meant to each other. He agreed that they never felt that way about another person. It was clear that their relationship was different and unique and that it was okay to share that contact.

Wasn't that being boyfriends?

"Fine," he said resignedly and Luffy laughed.

He looked away with a sigh. He didn't know why he made such a fuss. He should have considered that idea earlier, in addition to the fact that Luffy never discussed anything with other people. He resolved and decided. He was very practical.

He felt a tug on his shirt and suddenly found himself bent over. Luffy was on tiptoe, kissing him. It took him by surprise and he panicked, mostly because of prying eyes, but no one was paying attention to them and he could afford to relax. 

He closed his eyes and slipped his long arm under Luffy's, gripping him behind his back. He answered that kiss and caressed Luffy's lips calmly, without haste. When they parted, the boy looked at him with a contagious smile. He was tempted and kissed him quickly.

"Silly, Torao," Luffy retorted and Law rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, let's move on."

He walked past the boy who didn’t hesitate for a second to run after him and demand more food. 

.

.

.

Brook had made himself comfortable in the large garden and the children from his workshop were also around him. They had prepared some songs and music with body percussion and even made instruments with recycled things, like real luthiers. Brook was very skilled and knew how to get music out of anything.

Momonosuke was in the center with a guiro, a scraping instrument that had been made from a discarded paint can and some metal rods. They were playing a cumbia and some of the other boys were beating the drums made out of more cans. Vivi sang into a microphone, Law didn't know that girl could do it so well. At the Kamabakka she gave school tutoring to the kids, but she had a talent for music as well.

The cumbia resonated throughout the garden and the atmosphere was festive. Law remembered the party at the Kamabakka, a few months ago. He couldn't help looking at Tama who was dancing with another girl and with Leo. In the end they were able to get their home back. The neighbors contributed the labor together with Tama's father who knew about construction and saved everything they could from the burned building. As he learned from Ivan, with the money raised at the party they bought materials and rebuilt it little by little. It wasn’t done yet and they couldn't return, but they would soon be leaving Shirohige's home to re-inhabit their home.

He saw Luffy trying to get Zoro to dance, but the boy refused and Law was amused. Sanji appeared with food in his hands and made Luffy forget the matter, throwing himself towards those skewers of meat that seemed to drive him crazy. He had approached the door because he was waiting for Corazón to arrive. According to the message he sent him, he was in the streets, but his father was so clueless that he believed him capable of getting lost. He lit a cigarette to smoke for a moment.

Ace and Sabo were dancing in the middle of the people in the garden. The mid-afternoon sun bathed them as Ace's hands seemed to fit perfectly on his foster brother's body. They seemed uninhibited and carefree. And contrary to what anyone would have thought, no one was looking at them. Perhaps everyone already knew that obvious attraction between them. He supposed that they would have been afraid in the time they used to argue a lot, as Luffy told him, and that fear had been the main reason for not living their relationship. Perhaps they finally realized, like Law, that there was no point in fearing someone else's gaze. No one was looking at them but themselves.

And Law. But he did it because that overflowing freedom they exhibited reminded him of Luffy. And he had already learned that anything to do with him would take all his looks.

"Law!"

He saw his father walking towards him with a huge bag. He raised his eyebrow in confusion. Why did Corazon carry a sack as if he were Santa Claus?

“What is this?” He asked, puzzled.

Corazón stopped at the makeshift table at the entrance of the home and greeted one of the coordinators.

"Hi Izo, how are you?" He said kindly and placed the large bag on the table. “It’s food.”

He smiled, rolling his eyes when he understood the mystery of the bag. He should have known, his father always took such things seriously.

"Rosinante, long time no see!" Izo greeted him. “How are you? How are the Bellamy trial hearings coming?”

Izo was in charge of other areas of the home, Law almost never had to deal with him in first person, but his father had a closer relationship with almost all the coordinators since he volunteered in the adoption social organizations. Law dealt with Ace and Marco more.

"Well, they're exhausting for them," Corazón replied. “Many suffered terrible things with Bellamy, others are addicts too.”

"Yes, several of them go with Thatch three times a week to rehab groups," Izo mentioned, referring to another coordinator.

"But I think it is good for them to have someone support them and be with them while they testify. I got that permit to be there and they trusted me,” Corazón continued with a smile. 

When he heard him talk about those things, he really wanted to hug him. And it seems that he called him with the thought because Cora-san turned his face and looked at him, giving him a smile.

"How are you, Law?" He asked, hugging his son by the shoulders as they walked into the garden.

"Good, a little while ago I bought some food at one of the stands. And this hat that Tama made.”

Corazón looked at him and laughed.

"Looks good on you." He reached up and touched the fabric. “I also want one.”

They bought some things to eat, something sweet and some coffee. They sat down to sip it at makeshift tables between food and craft stalls, watching Brook's show.

"There's Luffy," Corazón said as if he didn't know and Law watched the boy dance with Nami. “Is everything okay between you two?”

He hadn't said anything to Corazón. He hadn't actually told anyone. If it weren't for Luffy telling his friends, probably no one would know. He looked at his father without knowing how to say it and ran his hand over his face.

“That bad?” He heard him ask and looked at him quickly.

“No, no. It's not that,” he hastened to reply. “I don't want you to make a fuss with what I'm going to tell you.”

Corazón looked at him intrigued and Law already regretted what he was going to say.

"Luffy-ya and I talked after you left," he commented cautiously, "and we both decided that we're okay… dating."

His father blinked several times as if he didn’t understand. Law knew that he was actually processing the information and that when he did…

"Is Luffy your boyfriend?!” He yelled wide-eyed. His mouth reached the floor, he was sure of that.

He closed his eyes and counted to ten. 

"Why do I surround myself with idiots?" He murmured in a low voice but Corazón heard him and was outraged.

"Hey! I'm your father!" He snapped as if that was argument enough.

“Torao!” Luffy's shout went through the entire garden and Law grabbed his head.

He was not ready for this encounter. He wasn't ready for anything, really.

"Cora-san!" Luffy had come up to them. He had some new food in his hand and looked at them smiling. “You came!”

His father's gaze did not go unnoticed, although he then smiled kindly at the boy.

"How are you, Luffy? Sit with us.”

"Very good, when did you arrive?" Luffy sat down next to Law and continued eating.

"I just got here, how have you been? I recently saw your grandfather.”

“Really?” Luffy looked surprised and curious. “Sabo told me that he returned from his trip a few days ago.”

"I saw him at my father's house, Sengoku," Corazon mentioned. “They told me about the trip, they bought you some T-shirts.”

“He told me!” Luffy yelled excitedly. “Grandpa sent me a photo, mine has a monkey. He also sent some to Ace and Sabo.”

"Sengoku bought one with a sea lion for Law."

Luffy looked at him wide-eyed —just as Corazón did a few moments ago— and smiled excitedly.

"We have to wear them, Torao!" The boy shouted.

"It's a good idea," Corazón said, and he glared at him. 

Luffy started talking about his grandfather and Law disconnected for a while trying that cake he had bought with the coffee. Corazón latched onto Luffy so well and saw the two of them talking animatedly as if they had known each other for years. It didn’t surprise him. Luffy wasn't the only one with the magic potion of being friendly.

"Luffy." Corazón cut off his own talk and looked at the boy with a smile. “On Tuesday is Law's birthday and he was coming home to grab some dinner, do you want to join us?”

Law threw his head back and sighed loudly. Didn't anyone care about his opinion in that place?

"Is it your birthday, Torao?" He asked, looking at him in surprise. He stood up to nod. "You didn't tell me…” 

“I'm not celebrating my birthday, Luffy-ya. I'm just going to eat at Cora-san's.”

"I wish I knew, I want to give you something!"

He wasn't going to deny that the idea touched him. Although the image of Luffy choosing a gift for himself could only end in something chaotic in his mind, it seemed nice to imagine it.

"No need," he tried to persuade him. “Apparently my father invited you, so if you come, that's a nice gift.”

“I do not accept it! I'll find something for you, you'll see.”

"I can imagine what it might be," he said sarcastically, mocking him. “Surely you will bring a lot of meat and you will eat it.”

"It's a good idea," he said with his hand on his chin. “But I think I'll look for something else.”

Corazón was laughing at the scene and Law narrowed his eyes to warn him that he would not forget about that. 

"I'll make onigiri and grilled fish, Law loves that."

"He eats it every day!" Luffy yelled laughing.

"He doesn't eat a lot of things," Heart added, and he glared at them.

"I'm here, you know."

In the background they heard Brook start to play another song with the boys and Luffy jumped out of the seat.

"This is perfect for dancing, let's go Torao!" He took his arm and pushed him off the tables, toward the center of the set-up dance floor in the garden.

"Wait, Luffy-ya, no…!" 

Corazón laughed from his seat and Law vowed revenge. A bloody and evil one against his father.

Luffy started to move in front of him. He danced to the rhythm and although he didn’t coordinate very well, he knew how to move naturally. The soccer boy was good at everything that was physical and had to do with using the body. Sports, enthusiasm, the practical part of his career. Being in the Kamabakka, in the camps, at parties, rescuing girls from fires, robbing gangsters. Being shot.

At some point he found himself smiling. The body in front of him forced him to follow in his footsteps and Law felt it wasn't so bad to be there. He remembered Ace and Sabo, who had already disappeared from the center of the dance floor, and his own need to hide from the gaze of others when the only gaze that fled was his own.

And now he didn't have to run anymore. He couldn't do it when the only look he wanted on him was finally looking at him.

"Luffy-ya," he whispered, not sure what he was looking for or if the boy heard him.

Of course he did.

“Yeah?”

Law bent over. His hand caught Luffy's waist and pulled him against him. He kissed him. He could feel the soccer boy's trademark enthusiasm in the way he grabbed his shirt and responded to him. Always energetic, never willing to stop that irrepressible push that made him Luffy.

And no one, absolutely no one, noticed those two people cut out from the crowd kissing instead of dancing. Only one man, sitting with his coffee on the tables between the food stands, was looking at them with a smile and a cigarette about to be lit. 

The only look he needed. And he smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter there was a small translation error that is still a mystery to Chainedkura and me (Google translate, we know it was you). In the first part of the chapter it said that Luffy and Law were kissing from 5 in the morning until 10, but actually in the Spanish version it said that it had started from 5 in the morning until 6 in the morning. It's a small mistake but we were amused to think that Luffy and Law kissed for a full FIVE HOURS haha  
> It's sad that this is the previous to last chapter 😭


	16. The Detours

Law parked the car in front of Luffy's house. He had to dodge a truck and park a bit forward because there were people unloading boxes. When he came down he realized that it was at Luffy's house and it seemed strange to him. Why were they getting boxes into his house?

"Law!"

Marco appeared behind the truck with a box in hand, he seemed surprised to see him.

“Marco? He asked, turning his face, clearly as puzzled as he was. “What are you doing here?”

"I'm helping Ace move," he explained, pointing to some boxes in the truck. “We came with Izo's truck carrying his things.”

His brows drew together not understanding.

"Give me another one!" Luffy yelled out the door. “Ah,Torao!”

Law smiled at the sight. Luffy looked very happy and bright. He could guess why; he was beginning to understand that picture.

"You are here early," the boy said, approaching them both.

“Are you guys going out?” Marco asked and Luffy nodded.

"We were going to eat at Cora-san's," he replied smiling.

Izo and Ace got out of the truck holding what looked like the last boxes and left them on the ground. Sabo came out of the house and stacked some boxes to lift, when he saw him.

"Law, how are you?" Izo and Ace looked in his direction and set the boxes down to come closer as well.

"Well, I was coming to look for Luffy-ya, did I arrive at the wrong time?"

Ace and Sabo looked at each other with a small smile and Law didn’t fully understand the meaning behind the gesture. He was not overly concerned. He understood that there were secrets and codes between some people. Looks that only the two of them understood.

"Not at all," Sabo replied with a friendly smile. “Ace was moving in, but Luffy almost broke two fragile boxes so you better take him away.”

"Hey, there wasn't a fragile label!" The boy exclaimed to defend himself.

"Yes, there was!" Ace snapped. “But you got it upside down.”

"It's not my fault if it was turned around…"

Sabo and Marco laughed in amusement and Izo shook his head. He also looked at them with a small smile. Ace and Sabo's fight had made Luffy sad for a while and their complicated relationship had been difficult for the boy who wanted to solve everything with love. His two brothers living with him again, without drama in between, would make him happy without a doubt.

And that made Law happy.

"We'll have a welcome back dinner for Ace later, although Luffy won't be around," Sabo mentioned with his hand on his chin.

"Tomorrow we'll eat together." Luffy didn't look discouraged about not being there that night, although Law felt a little bad for taking him away.

"If you want you can stay, Luffy-ya ..."

"Are you kidding me? I want to eat at Cora-san's!"

That kid's impetus was hilarious and everyone laughed. Shirohige’s people knew Law’s father perfectly. Everyone put that smile on their face when they talked about him.

"So you'll leave your room empty at Shirohige's," Law mentioned thoughtfully and Ace nodded.

"More boys will be coming in in a few days and I…" His gaze met Sabo and he smiled, "I have a house anyway."

"I'm going to get my things, Torao, I'll be right back," Luffy said before disappearing into the house.

Ace continued to tell him how things were at Shirohige's and he listened with interest. Apparently Tama would be moving into her restored home shortly, and some of the boys and girls were having hearings with prospective adoptive parents. He was glad to know that. For now, Leo would still be at the Home. He would go to visit him soon, Cora-san would probably return and he was thinking of snatching that opportunity to accompany him.

He noticed that Izo held Marco's hand for a moment. Law was not intrusive but he paid attention to details and noted the connection between the two men. He remembered the chat messages of his friends, when Bepo said he believed he had seen Marco outside the hospital with a woman. It amused him to know that it had really always been Izo.

"I wanted to invite everyone, but the house is small," Ace mentioned looking at Sabo with a smile.

"In the end we invited our closest friends," Sabo added. “And we are still like twenty.”

To Law this seemed like a celebration for the officialization of a relationship. He didn't think it was anyway, but it seemed like a nice initiative and it seemed to make them happy.

"Did you tell Kiku?" Ace asked, suddenly looking at Izo. “The last time I spoke to her she was taking hormone treatment, months ago.”

"She was very into it, and her appearance change a lot," Izo exclaimed with a smile. “She is very happy.”

"Kiku is Izo's sister." Watching Law's puzzled look, Marco began to explain. “She was doing a treatment with Ivan to make the transition, she is a trans girl.”

It didn't seem strange to him. Ivan was an endocrinologist and he knew that a large part of his work in hospitals, clinics and even in social organizations had to do with hormonal treatments for trans people.

—Ivan is a great professional, surely he took good care of her.

"She's delighted, she's going to come today, so you'll see her splendid," her brother added with a proud smile.

Luffy returned with a backpack and a large bag. He looked happy and was grinning madly with the cellphone in his hand.

"How about we take a picture?" He asked, almost shouting.

They settled in front of the door, boxes in their hands and on the floor. Law wanted to take it, because he didn't feel like he had to participate in that moment, but Ace took him by the shoulder and wedged him between him and Sabo.

"My little brother's boyfriend has to be in the picture," he said with a happy expression when Luffy laughed, covering his face. The boy raised his arm and counted backwards with the camera in selfie mode. “But if you hurt him, I'll kill you.”

The whisper didn’t go unnoticed and a chill ran through his body. Luffy showed them the photo and Ace came out with a clean, perfect smile. No trace of what he said was on his face.

"Come on, Torao, I'm starving!" He grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the car.

"See you, have a good night," he greeted before letting himself be carried away by that boy.

When they got into the car and buckled up, Luffy sighed with a goofy, happy smile.

“Are you happy? He asked, although it was obvious, as he started the car and drove out of Goa.

Luffy looked at the photo and zoomed in on their faces.

"Today is a special day, Torao," he exclaimed, smiling. “Ace comes back to live with us and it's your birthday.”

They briefly met each other's gaze before he had to watch the road again. Luffy looked amused and he snorted playing along.

"I thought you were going to say it there, in front of everyone." Luffy clicked his tongue and looked offended, which made him laugh.

"You have a bad concept of me, you know?" He snapped, scowling. “You told me you don't like your birthday too much, I wasn't going to expose you.”

He closed his eyes for a brief but necessary moment to open them again and smile. He looked at Luffy laughing.

"You are a complete mystery, Luffy-ya."

The sea and storm boy smiled, showing him all his teeth and gums and Law couldn't help but to find him beautiful.

.

.

.

When Corazón opened the door his smile was huge. The representation of happiness. He lunged at Law and hugged him tightly, almost knocking him out of breath.

"Cora-san, wait." He gasped for breath and Luffy laughed at him. “It's not funny, help me!”

"Happy birthday, Law!" His father broke away from him and hugged Luffy with the same effusiveness, but the boy responded in the same way.

The heat definitely took over the city but Corazón's house was still just as hot as when it was winter. Luffy took off his thin jacket and was left with a short-sleeved shirt. Law also had to undress a bit.

"God, Dad, aren't you dying of heat in here?" He snapped and Cora-san looked at him smiling. He always liked it when he said that to him.

Luffy left his things near the door and entered the kitchen behind him, following the delicious smell of the food.

"Did you cook, Cora-san?" He asked, dazed looking at all the food on the counter. Law laughed.

"Where is your broken arm?" He raised an eyebrow and Corazon scowled at him.

He saw him roll his eyes and smiled, feeling like a winner.

“I bought it and had it delivered. It's a place Law liked when he was younger.”

They used to order from the same bar when they didn't feel like cooking, or treating Cora-san whenever he cut himself trying. On his birthday nights they would buy there and eat on the couch watching a series.

"Law told me you like meat, so I bought hamburgers and fries too." He showed him a table with the food arranged perfectly and Luffy's mouth fell open, almost starting to drool.

"Let's get settled in before Luffy-ya eats the kitchen."

They brought everything to the coffee table in the living room next to the dining room and Corazón turned on the television. The sofa hugged the three of them with its trays and tables overflowing with food. Corazón had fries and grilled fish. Luffy his burger combo with fries and dressing all over the place and Law, in the middle, with his tray of onigiris, sauces and dressings and two grilled fish. Maybe it was too much, but it looked delicious.

“What are we gonna watch?” Luffy asked eagerly and Law laughed.

“I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”

Corazón put on a random episode of Dr. House and Luffy threw his head back booing.

"Boooooring," he yelled even though Law and Corazón laughed at him.

Anyway, the food was so exciting that Luffy forgot about the program and concentrated on eating wildly, filling himself with ketchup and sauce and opening his mouth wide to eat that triple burger.

"God, I don't understand anything, what has he got?" Luffy asked, trying to follow the show carefully.

Cora-san, with his handkerchiefs on his nose and Law with his impassive face, continued to stare at the screen.

"Cancer," they both replied.

Luffy smirked looking sideways at Law. He looked so engrossed by the medical fiction that he didn't notice the boy's intense gaze. Only when he finished eating and wiped his hands with a napkin did he notice Luffy's hand against his.

It reminded him of that day at the beach and without hesitation, he took it.

They finished the chapter in silence, interrupted by Corazón blowing his nose or Luffy's heavy breathing telling him that he had fallen asleep. That didn't bother him. It was something very typical of him.

He woke up when Corazón got up from the couch to go to the bathroom and saw him rub his eyes in the dark.

"What happened? Is it over now? Was she cured?"

The giddy questions were hilarious and Law smiled looking at his sleeping face.

"Yes, it finished and yes. She was cured.”

Corazón appeared with ice cream served in glasses and passed them on. Luffy regained his energy upon seeing it. They ate dessert while chatting. Law never feared what the relationship between Cora-san and Luffy would be like. He knew them and knew that they both would fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

He still didn't know how he fit in, that being so different he adapted to both of them in an amazing way.

He was startled when Luffy jerked his knee and stood up abruptly.

"I've been waiting for this moment all night, I'm so excited!"

He raised an eyebrow without understanding but Luffy didn't bother to say anything to him. He just got up and came back with the huge bag he had seen him pick up at his home. He handed it to him with a smile and sat cross-legged on the floor, watching him closely.

Law knew it was a gift and opened it carefully. Inside the big paper bag was a package. It wasn't heavy but it wasn't light either. He unwrapped it slowly and the first thing he noticed was the softness of a fabric. Then the little brown spots.

"A hat ..."

Cora-san's eyes also bulged when he saw it. He was absorbed in running his fingers through the hat over and over again.

“It is like…?”

He was speechless and Luffy laughed upon seeing him shocked. How could it not be? It was a hat almost identical to the one he wore in his childhood photos; the one that Corazón had given him.

Months ago he told Luffy about it in one of his first early morning text conversations. Luffy had said they had to get him a new one, but Law thought it impossible.

"I bought the fabric, Sabo helped me choose it," Luffy mentioned with a smile. “And I hired the best craftswoman and the best weaver to do it.”

Law closed his eyes with a smile and bitten lips. His mind was filled with images of Leo and Tama holding their wares at Shirohige’s fair. There were no doubts.

"Working together they are faster than anyone," the boy added.

The hat was different from the one of his childhood. It had a front visor and it wasn't round, but the fabric was almost the same and the design was the same. Luffy took it in his hands and placed it on his head.

"Now we both have our hats," he muttered happily.

"Luffy, this is amazing!" Corazón was still around Law looking stunned at the hat, he touched it without believing it and felt the soft texture of the fabric.

Law remained silent because he felt that a lot of things were crowding in his chest. It was not just the hat and the fact that it was Luffy who gave it to him, but he knew how important the boys and girls of Kamabakka and Shirohige’s were to him. He was related to them and it was a huge gesture to have something they made with their hands.

He looked at his boyfriend. The word seeped into his thoughts and he didn't push it away. He felt that he was becoming friends with it more and more. His hand took Luffy's face, which seemed to be small between his long, tattooed fingers. Luffy smirked and his grimace turned to surprise when he pulled his face up for a kiss.

Corazón smiled, feeling like a spectator of a moment in which his son made him participate. After all, there was no other person who knew him like his father. He knew his misfortunes, his joys, the reasons why he got up every day. And now he knew this.

That he had no more fear, no walls. Not for him, not for Luffy.

.

.

.

When they entered his apartment, Luffy took off his jacket and threw himself on the sofa with a tired smile.

"God, I ate too much," he gasped with his hands on his stomach. Law rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn’t eat so much, you know that, right?" He exclaimed, looking for some cups. “I'll make a digestive tea, you're going to drink it.”

Luffy laughed mischievously and stretched out further on the couch smiling.

"Cora-san is amazing," he whispered to himself, but Law heard perfectly and couldn't help but smile fondly as he poured hot water into the cups.

He approached the couch and Luffy made space for him although he placed his legs on his lap and sat up a bit to be able to drink the tea. The heat comforted them and began to warm the atmosphere.

"Are you happy that Ace is living with you again?" He asked, looking at the boy sprawled out beside him.

Luffy brushed his hair back from his face and smiled, showing him his incredibly bright gesture.

"I'm very happy! We agreed that tomorrow we’ll have dinner together when I come back."

The next day would be a challenge for both of them. First thing in the morning they would have a hearing at the Dressrosa court for Bellamy and then they would go to the Kamabakka. Law would have to arrive at 9 o'clock but due to the hearing he delayed the consultation hours because neither Marco nor Ivan could replace him. He would almost overlap with lunchtime, but at least it would provide attention. Luffy had his soccer group at two in the afternoon and it was easier for them to go together.

Although he had the feeling that from that moment they would begin to go places together because of other reasons. Wasn't it like that with couples?

"You have to get up early tomorrow," he warned, looking at the boy with threatening eyes.

He didn't know why anyway. He was the one with the sleep problems.

"You set the alarm, I'll get up."

Luffy finished his tea and carried both cups into the kitchen. Law decided to find his sleeping clothes.

"Did you bring something to sleep in?" He asked from his room, changing.

"Yeah, in the backpack. And a toothbrush too.”

He stood still, staring at the yellow shirt in his hands. It was silly, and especially for him who had always been out of those kinds of cliches, but the fact that Luffy left his toothbrush, his things, that he inhabited his environments, made him feel deeply accompanied. Much less lonely than he always felt.

The soccer boy appeared in his red shirt and shorts, walking on tiptoe with only his socks on. He threw himself onto the bed and fell into a sitting position.

“Are you tired?” He asked when he finished changing his clothes. He slid onto the bed next to Luffy and smiled.

Being around him no longer worried him or made him feel anxious or tense. Now there was an air of naturalness around them, a domestic and daily atmosphere that he wanted to get used to.

"Not so much, although I’m kinda tired."

They looked at each other and Law took the time to detail his face. Black hair, big eyes. The pupils were not noticeable because of the dark color of the iris. His own eyes, between brown and gold, stood out from his normally dark face, but Luffy seemed more harmonious. Except for the scar under his left eye that made him look eccentric and mysterious.

"What are you looking at, Torao?" He asked in a low voice looking at him. Law laughed.

“Nothing.”

He raised his hand to go around Luffy's cheek and bring him to him. The boy didn’t refuse and closed his eyes as the impulse guided him to his lips. He had gotten used to those gestures and displays of affection between them.

Luffy bit his lower lip and he opened his mouth to let his tongue pass. It was warm and soft and always invaded him with incredible power. As was Luffy in general, invading everything with the force of storms.

His hand climbed up the boy's chest and grabbed the back of his neck, stroking it absently. Luffy flinched, apparently it had tickled him and he couldn't help laughing between the kisses. Luffy's hands also didn’t stay still and roamed his chest, as if stroking the tattoos on the shirt he was wearing.

He had found that not thinking so much was good sometimes. With his eyes closed and given to kissing, there was nothing else in his head that was not to continue doing what he was doing. Luffy also didn’t move away and his traveling hands touched him eagerly to know him more.

He squeezed him when it became apparent that the kiss would lengthen and was relieved when Luffy reacted positively, moving closer to his body and wrapping both hands around his neck. He enjoyed the stroking of his hair and even his restless fingers touching his sideburns. He seemed curious about his body and that kind of contact and the conversation they had had days ago, when they talked about Luffy's sexuality, floated back into his mind.

Luffy seemed to be asexual and demyromantic, but he also didn’t feel reflected in categories that he didn’t fully understand. What was Luffy but someone who was out of any control; of any norm?

He pulled back for air and that was the moment that Luffy needed to move. Law hardly noticed. When he opened his eyes, the boy's face was closer than he thought. His body sitting astride his.

The heat that Luffy gave off could be addictive and Law relaxed under his touch. When they kissed again, he felt like he could melt under the gentle, warm touch of that twenty-two-year-old boy. There in his room, safe from monsters and slavers, he felt immune.

He went around Luffy's back and caressed him gently over the shirt, carefully and when he felt him shudder and laugh between the kisses, he verified that he had tickled him again. Luffy’s skin crawled under the shirt and he could tell when he dared to reach inside and scratch gently with his nails. Luffy moved like a snake, but from the noise it made against his mouth, he could tell that he liked it.

He didn’t stay behind, either. The boy's hands were eager and filled with his characteristic curiosity. He had crossed them behind his neck but now he was also holding his shirt between his fingers and gently caressed his back. Law knew that was too much, at least for what they had been doing.

"Luffy," he managed to say, forgetting about the honorific. The boy seemed to ignore him and moved against him.

What that movement caused was indescribable. He bit his lip and muffled a sound that would have left him very exposed. Luffy didn't seem to notice or want to stop. He buried his face in his neck and kissed him.

His hand escaped from Luffy's back and grabbed onto his hair, stroking it carefully as the boy kissed him. His breathing was getting out of control and he knew what that meant. He wasn't going to deny that he wasn't looking forward to it, that he didn't want it to happen, but he had certain fears regarding what Luffy really wanted, or if he was doing it to please him.

When Luffy bit hard on his skin he couldn't help but gasp. There would be a mark there in a little while and he hoped that by tomorrow, at least, it would be gone. He held the boy's body from behind, as if he had to keep him secure on his legs while he sank into his neck with unknown intentions. However, the gentle sway of his hips had clearly defined intentions and he was having a hard time resisting it.

"Luffy," he said again, testing what the name sounded like, almost as if he reserved it that way for those intimate moments. “What are you…?”

The little demon dragged his hips over his, as if to shut him up and Law bit the inside of his cheek but moaned anyway. He was breathing heavily and Luffy was too. His hands had moved to the boy's hip and he began to guide him in that gentle and intimate movement.

It was different from what he remembered as intimacy. With Kid, those moments were filled with irrepressible desire, almost chaotic and uncontrolled. Luffy was the opposite; it was sensual and soft, as if he had a kitten rubbing himself in his lap.

He began to think that sexuality was even more complex to claim that it was unique to each person. Maybe it was unique to each relationship. Kid had arrived at a very particular moment in his life, with a diametrically different personality than Luffy, with other stories and tragedies. It was logical to think that he was not going to bond in the same way as with that boy who, despite living hard times and a deprived childhood, had grown up full of the love of his brothers and his friends.

It was a new sexuality for Law, full of discoveries and new sensations and he didn’t try to stop it. When Luffy detached himself from his neck and looked at him, he clearly saw the signs of desire in his pupils. His cheeks flushed, his breathing ragged. He felt the same way too and wanted to find out what it was like to be intimate with him.

He licked his lips as he held Luffy's hips with both hands and continued to push him to move them over him. Luffy held onto his shoulders and dropped to his knees on the bed to deepen the contact.

The sound that came from Luffy's lips startled him. He had never heard him moan, although he never thought about it before either, but now that he heard him, he couldn't deny that it did _things to_ him. He tried to breathe normally, but he couldn't fool his body anymore or pretend he wasn't feeling aroused. He could feel Luffy in the same condition and when the boy raised his face to see him, he found the same thoughts in his eyes.

"Torao," he gasped in agitation and Law looked at him carefully. “Can we ... touch each other?”

He opened his mouth and closed it several times, not knowing how to speak. Not that he didn't have a clear answer, but there were things he didn't know regarding Luffy, sex, and pleasure and he needed a roadmap for how to act.

"Have you ever..." he said, his voice hoarse and deeper than normal, "have you done it yourself?"

Luffy nodded softly and he was shocked. When they talked about sexuality and estimated that he could be asexual —despite the fact that he refused to categorize him— his mind cataloged it under that label. He realized now, when he couldn’t conceive that the boy had masturbated before.

"From time to time," he replied in a low voice, also more serious. “When I'm lonely and bored It feels good.”

"And what... Do you do for that?" He felt like an idiot asking without being entirely clear. “I mean... Do you watch a video or read a magazine?”

Luffy denied and his face showed bewilderment.

"No, I just... touch myself because it feels good."

It couldn't be otherwise with that boy. He didn't imagine him watching some erotic video or reading those adult magazines. Luffy had a strange head that worked differently from the rest of the people he knew. It was interesting to note how it happened to him with those things as well.

"So you want us to touch?" He repeated to be sure and Luffy nodded, serious in the darkness of his room.

He bit his lip, it was strange to feel insecure, but the whole situation was unexpected. However, it was not uncomfortable or unpleasant. He wanted Luffy's closeness, his touch.

"Do you want me to do it for you?" He asked softly, stroking his hair carefully and looking into the black eyes that glowed like obsidian.

Luffy, as an answer, stood up to lower his pants a little. Law followed suit, trying to arch up and remove his clothes while still sitting with Luffy on top of him. In the dark they couldn't see each other clearly, only his face and the shape of his body. Touch was the privileged sense, the one that could perceive and know the other. Undressing was never easy but Law felt sheltered in the intimacy of those walls, of that darkness and Luffy's touch.

He felt carefully until he found the boy's erection and tried to observe all his gestures as he stroked him. Luffy gasped and bit his lip, moving against him again as he embraced him with his entire hand and stroked him at a steady but gentle pace.

Luffy seemed to enjoy it, his gestures and sounds showed it to him and he smiled looking at him. He liked seeing him like this, so devoted to that moment of enjoyment together. He paused for a moment and the boy's gaze penetrated him with deep-set eyes as if asking him not to stop. He laughed softly.

He took his own erection and made use of his long fingers to also embrace Luffy's and caress them at the same time. The boy shuddered and so did he; The feeling of being against him, so hot and full of desire, took hold of him. He moved his hand and let the other hold Luffy's hip to guide his movements against him. They were slow at first. The swaying of his hips and his hand at the same rhythm brought them to a very pleasant ecstasy.

Luffy gasped and complained, sometimes looking at him, open to let Law see him enjoy, and other times hiding in his neck, biting and licking his sensitive skin. He was just as out of control, feeling on the verge of giving up all rationality to indulge in the sensation of Luffy's erection pressed so close to his own.

The breaths, the gasps, the movement, everything sped up and increased. He no longer had control over his body or what was happening, the end was near and he had no intention of stopping it. Luffy crawled onto his neck and moved his hips against his hand. He wrapped his other arm around him and held him there as he felt the boy crumbling on his chest between gasps and moans.

And he, in front of that image, of that feeling, of that unique and unrepeatable moment in which Luffy enjoyed in his arms, could not help but let go as well. He buried his face in his boyfriend's wild hair and breathed heavily.

They held on without letting go for long moments. Luffy didn't show his face and Law gently stroked his back with his nose through his hair. When they finally parted ways, Luffy's satisfied smile said more than a thousand words.

"We're a mess," Law murmured looking at his hand but the smile on his mouth spread more and more.

Luffy got off his lap to let him get up. Law found a towel in the bathroom and cleaned himself. He let the boy do it himself too and tossed it into the laundry basket to get into bed.

He didn't expect Luffy to seek his contact, to hug him from behind, burying his head between his shoulder blades. It was warm and it made him feel loved in a very different way than how he used to experience it with Corazón or his friends.

He felt his deep breath and gently caressed the hand that was around his chest, feeling Luffy so small behind him. His breathing was deep, surely he would have fallen asleep.

"Torao," he managed to mutter before falling asleep. Law grunted softly in response. “I love you”.

He opened his eyes and his hand twitched against Luffy's but it took him so long to respond that the first snoring seeped into his ears as proof enough that he had nothing more to add.

He bit his lip and smiled, unable to believe what that boy was capable of. He destabilized him even then and he always got away with it. It was good. Luffy didn't need an answer. He had felt it.

He closed his eyes and decided to sleep. With Luffy quartered on his back, monsters would think twice before appearing in his nightmares.

.

.

.

On the fifth ring of the alarm clock, Law opened his eyes. He groped for his cell phone and checked the time.

Hell, it was so early, the sun wasn't up yet and he just wanted to keep sleeping.

Luffy didn't even move on his back, he was still glued to him like an octopus —or a tick— and he didn't acknowledge the alarm.

He sat up rubbing his face and moved Luffy to wake him up. It was very difficult, but when he opened his eyes and positioned himself, he managed to get him up.

"Let's buy some coffee, we woke up a little late," he said as he got dressed. Luffy was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and growled demanding food. “I'll buy something on the way, don't worry.”

That scene reminded him of several others. How many times had he woken up with Luffy reliving that same day? At the camp, when they got up in the tent and bribed him with food to wake him up. At Sanji's house when he had to leave early for work. In his own house, when he stayed to sleep on the couch and when they had their first kiss. He always had to mention food to get Luffy to leave his shelter.

The soccer boy came out of the bathroom with a sleepy face, backpack on his shoulder and a lazy smile. Law looked at him carefully, not feeling alarmed from spending so much time checking his face.

He leaned closer and stretched his hand to encompass Luffy's cheek. He pressed his thumb over one of his eyes and rubbed it clean. Luffy complained but didn't stop him and he chuckled softly.

"Come on, I'm starving," he snapped, his stomach roaring like a lion.

Law took his keys, his cell phone and a backpack where he had some papers for the hearing and important documents. When they were in the car, he made sure to stop by a gas station to refuel and bought breakfast. Luffy revived just by looking at it.

As he drove to Dressrosa, he glanced at him. Full of crumbs from his sandwich, coffee and cell phone in hand. His slippers were off and one leg was on the seat.

He was the boy he had been told so much about, the one he never wanted to meet. He was the boy who came into his life to destroy everything and show him another way of living.

"Luffy-ya," he murmured, staring at the road leading out of town. He watched him as dawn spread its domain behind him. “Me too”

It was not necessary to say more. He saw him smile and knew he understood. After all, Luffy was the smartest boy he had ever met, the one who read emotions with unthinkable clarity.

Luffy was an unforeseen event that he could never have predicted. He appeared overnight, his face covered in soot and crawled into his bones, pressed against his skin. He shared his dreams, his commitment to the Kamabakka, and his drive to stop mobsters like Bellamy.

And there, driving to those destinations that reconciled his interests and concerns, with that boy in the passenger seat, he felt safe. Because even if Luffy couldn't guide him even two streets and didn't have the assurance of arriving safely, he no longer cared about taking detours.

There was no point avoiding the unpredictable or controlling everything. The detour had its risks, but also an incredible gain. Like the boy next to him, the detour was freedom.

And Law had been in jail long enough. Now he wanted to win it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there are many things I want to say. I hope you liked the fanfic, the development and the ending it had. This story means a lot to me because it has a lot of my thinking, experiences and also experiences of people that I love and admire. Plus, it gave me the chance to meet amazing people in the fandom. Thanks to the Strawheart crew Discord group for being such a source of endless fun and support. To Daena for always being with me and sharing this madness together and to Chainedkura for taking the incredible job of translating this fanfic into English. More people were able to read it thanks to him.
> 
> Thank you for accompanying me on this path, you made this quarantine fun and made me happy thinking about Law and Luffy during all these months. ♥
> 
> Follow me in [tumbrl](https://anniedeodair.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/Melancolia_Azul) ♥


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